Archive for the ‘Crystals and Stones’ Category

I know what you’re thinking, “Glass isn’t crystal!”, and you’re absolutely right from a scientific standpoint. Glass itself is man-made from natural sand that has been melted at extremely high temperatures then molded, hardened and cured. Sea glass starts its life out as just such glass that has broken with time and wear, eventually making its way into the ocean and, after many years, finds itself coming to rest on shores that are often thousands of miles from its origins. Keep in mind that the journey this glass has taken to arrive may have begun decades and quite possibly many centuries before it was found. However, from a metaphysical standpoint, sea glass is a powerful gem filled with the energy of the elements that have transformed it from a simple piece of refuse glass into a beautiful and highly sought after gift of nature.

My first experiences with sea glass happened during a trip to Moon Cove near Santa Cruz, CA. Moon Cove is the name we have given to a deep cave nestled into the coastline where water ebbs and flows as the waves break against the outlying rocks before gently rolling through the opening. Walking into the mouth of the cave is like journeying into the womb of our Mother. The healing and restorative energy found within is like no other I’ve experienced before. One day my coven decided to take reflective solitary walks along the shore and would meet back at the cove in three hours time. During my own walk, something caught my eye. There in the sand was a soft bluish stone that was almost translucent. The surf continued to roll over it as the tide began to creep further inland. Fearing it would be swept away, I reached my hand into the cold, foamy water and picked up my treasure. Holding it within my hands I could feel the energy emanating from it and I instantly felt at peace. Elated with my find, I continued to walk along the shore and was thrilled to discover several other pieces of sea glass that day. Some very small, some slightly larger, each holding amazing amounts of energy that were unique to each and every piece.

Sea glass energy possibilities are as vast as the colors in which it can appear. Each piece has had a unique experience over its long journey that has likely spanned longer than you or I have be alive. During its journey it has ridden the waves, stumbled into the depths, been lost in the darkness, and reached for the sunlight. It has seen life and death and in the end has experienced its own rebirth.

Since that day I have become an avid collector and work with sea glass regularly. You will find it on my altar as a representation of water elements. You will find smaller pieces that I take to the seashore with me to leave as offerings to Yemaya. You will find me using them in my healing work to strengthen one’s ability to heal through even the most debilitating illnesses. You will find that I use sea glass in my spiritual counseling work as a reminder to those who are struggling with difficult life challenges that transformation can and will happen if you push through the pain of growth and persevere.

I highly encourage you to explore the amazing world of sea glass and find your own unique ways of working with this miraculous gemstone. You can purchase sea glass to start working with it right away, however the next time you find yourself on the shore of the ocean be sure to keep your eyes on the sand and open yourself to the energy of the pieces that are waiting to be found and heard. They are out there! Sea glass is truly a gift and a treasure worthy of being used in magick and healing as a crystal or gemstone. Each piece is an energy-laden blessing that has been birthed from our Great Mother’s watery, life-giving womb.

Putting together a set of stones for divination can be a really simple and inexpensive way to create a divination tool that you can take with you pretty much anywhere.  From creating a yes/no set of 6 stones to a larger set that mirrors the major arcana in the tarot deck, stone divination is a great way to use your crystals on another level of healing.

The first thing to do is decide on how big of a set you want to create.  You can always put these sets together on the fly when you need them from your collection of crystals, but if you want to create something specifically dedicated to divination, you’ll want to decide how big you want to go.  Do you want this to be something that fits in a small pouch that can go in your pocket?  Are you looking for something that can sit in a nice velvet lined wooden box on your altar and be part of your ritual divinations?  Let’s talk about both scenarios and then you’ll see that you can create anything in-between. Your creativity is your only limitation with this!

First, let’s look at simple, small sets of crystals which consists of 10 or fewer pieces.  A very simple one consists of 6 stones and is a yes/no bag.  All you need are 3 white and 3 black stones.  I would recommend for the white stones I would recommend:

• White Howlite = helps to calm, relieve stress and anger, and is said to also help gain insight from past lives.  (Howlite comes in a few different colors, including blue and green so you’ll want to seek out the white, which usually has black or gray veins through it.)
• Milky Quartz = helps with diffusing issues, relaxes and soothes.
• Moonstsone = connects to empathic energy, brings emotional balance, helps to release unwanted thoughts and emotions (Again, like howlite, moonstone comes in many colors.  Try and find ones that are as white as possible.)

Next you’ll want to find 3 black stones. Here I would recommend:

• Onyx = helps to ground and center, has a calming effect, helps to reveal underlying causes in difficult situations.
• Jet = brings stability and perspective to situations and puts the mind at ease.
• Black Tourmaline = very grounding and protective, helps to strengthen our grip on reality.

While seeking out your stones you’re going to want to look for pieces that are all somewhat uniform.  They don’t need to be the same size, but they should all be close (either all really small or all really large).  You also don’t want to mix raw and tumbled pieces, so either get all 6 as tumbled stones or all 6 as raw stones.  The reason for this is that when you have  your hand in your bag and you’re looking to draw a stone for an answer to a question you don’t want to be using your hands to search out familiar stones, even subconsciously.  You want to use the energy of the stones to draw you.  If you know that all the white stones are larger than the black, for example, you might be tempted to draw one of them just because of what you’d like the answer to your question to be.  By having stones that are all similar this is far less likely to happen and you’ll be able to focus more on how the energy of the stone feels.

Once you have your stones, properly cleanse and charge them, then give them intention.  Take the white ones and charge them for giving off “yes” answers and vibrations and the black ones for “no”.  If you feel for any reason that it should be the other way around, do that!  But charge them with their intent and their new “job”, so to speak.  Then put them in your bag.  Give them a gentle shake while thinking of a question that you already know the answer to.  Then put your receptive hand in, close your eyes, and take a moment to really feel around and let your hand be guided by the stones.  Draw our three stones, one at a time (I like to do this with my eyes still closed) and then see what you have.

• All White = Yes
• All Black = No
• 2 White, 1 Black = Most likely Yes
• 2 Black, 1 White = Most likely No

And there you go!  Really simple and depending on how small the stones are that you chose you can even carry this with you in your pocket all the time and you’ll never be without a quick divination tool.

For a larger set of stones, you can decide to work with a few different ideas.  I once had a stone reading with a woman that had a large Lazy Susan (one of those round spinning trays you might find on a dining table) filled with stones of all colors, shapes and sizes.  She had you think of a question and pick a number of stones with your eyes open.  Then you did it again, this time with your eyes closed.  The idea here was that the stones you picked with your eyes open indicated what you desire, what you were working toward, or even your expressed worries or fears, while the ones you picked with your eyes closed were more your higher self’s answers to some of these questions.  It was really interesting and quite accurate too.   The other method is to take stones that related back to the major arcana of the tarot and then you can use the stones to basically do tarot layouts like the Celtic Cross.

What I’m going to do is give you a list of stones with their meanings and tarot associations.  From there you can decide how you’d like to read them.  You can either just draw them like tarot cards or do the method like the woman that read for me did.  Either one I think works great.

Again follow the same rules when picking out your stones here.  Try and find ones that are somewhat uniform.  When you do the pick from a plate of stones method you can add in other stones that you might not otherwise use in a bag that you pull from, like geodes and points.  Once you have your stones, cleanse them, charge them, then place them in either a bag or box that you will work with them from.  Depending on how big of a collection you work with in this method, either with 22 to represent the tarot cards or with even more from just your personal preference, you will want to decide on a bag or box that will be big enough to hold them while also giving your hand room to move and work with them.

Stone Divination Meanings and Tarot Associations:
(this comes from Scott Cunningham’s book “Cunnignham’s Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem and Metal Magic”)

0.The Fool=Agate – Scattered energies, waste, extravagance, imbalance, pride, ego, vanity
1.The Magician = Quartz Crystal – Magical attainment, control, power, balance, center, unification of spiritual and physical, self-knowledge, depth and confidence
2.The High Priestess = Emerald – Spirituality, secrets, power, Earth religion, the unknown, female mysteries.
3.The Empress = Peridot – Receptive energies, women, cycles, fertility, abundance, creativity, growth, female sexuality and love.
4 The Emperor = Ruby – Projective energy, men, compassion, force, movement, aggression, male sexuality
5.Hierophant = Topaz – Authority, Captivity, Confinement, Advice, Employer, honor
6.The Lovers = Rose Quartz – Love, sexuality, relationships, friendships, duality, polarity, balance and beauty
7. Chariot = Staurolite (crossed stone or twinned crystals) – Earth power, nature,self-control
8.Strength = Diamond (Herkimer Diamond or Garnet) – Power, courage,will power, activity
9. Hermit = Sapphire (blue tourmaline) – Wisdom, Knowledge, Mysticism, enlightenment.
10.Wheel of Fortune = Sardonyx (black opal) – Transformation, fortune, luck, unknown factors
11.Justice = Carnelian – Law, Legal matters, dominance, submission
12.Hanged Man = Beryl (aquamarine) – Introspection trials, tests, sacrifice
13.Death = Amber – Renewal, beginnings, endings, health matters, Trials
14.Temperance = Amethyst – Moderation, Scattering of energies, nonfocused, disciplined, balance
15.Devil = Black Diamond (black tourmaline) – Addiction, delusion, pity, depression, pettiness, lack of vision, violence, control by others, submission
16.Tower = Lodestone Adversity, accident, oppression, challenge
17.The Star = Meteorite – Universal energies, astrology, eclipse, travel, hope
18.The Moon = Moonstone – Psychism, emotions, night, winter, sleep, dreams, tides, depression, water
19. The Sun = Tiger’s-eye – Mental activity, thought, visualizations, contentment, day, summer, the seasons
20.Judgment = Fossil – Reversal, outcome, evolution, growth, life, childbirth, lessons
21.The World = Opal – Interplay, success, harvest, movement, overview, ability, completion, higher forces.

Another great book to check out for information on stones and crystals for divination and magick is “Dunwich’s Guide to Gemstone Sorcery” by Gerina Dunwich.

One of my favorite stones that can be quite unique from piece to piece is ametrine.  Ametrine is a form of quartz that contains both amethyst and citrine and carries energies of both stones along with bringing a powerful cleanings and balancing energy.

Ametrine takes many forms, but in it’s natural state, the colors can be very dark and blended together in a way that can make some pieces look like they are just very deeply colored amethyst.  Other pieces have clear yellow or gold citrine elements within them.  Ametrine is minded almost exclusively in Bolivia which is where it gets one of its trade names, bolivianite, though some ametrine has been found on parts of India and Brazil in recent years.

Ametrine forms naturally in the Anahi mines in Bolivia because of the various temperature combinations, air pressure and the natural chemicals in the mines which cause a natural oxidation process to happen within the iron of the crystal itself.  Since the temperatures and pressures vary so greatly in this specific mining area, the oxidation rate of the iron deposits are so different that some parts of the crystal form as a yellow/gold color, creating citrine, while other parts turn varied shades of purple, creating amethyst.  Sometimes during the process one area will oxidize at a slightly different rate, just enough to cause part of a piece that would normally have been all amethyst to have a portion that formed as citrine.

When looking for ametrine, especially for healing or magickal work, it’s important to look for natural, raw, or tumbled pieces that are very obviously not meant for the purposes of making jewlery.  Many pieces of ametrine that are made for or sold as jewelry, such as faceted pieces for rings, are quite often (but not always) synthetic.  Ametrine can be easily mimicked either with dyes being applied to heat treated clear quartz or even by using different heat treatments to plain amethyst.  One sign of an artificial piece of ametrine is when the definitions between the amethyst and citrine are very obvious, as though the two pieces were almost fused together with a defined beginning and end to each color.  While this can happen in natural ametrine it’s very rare and you’re more apt to find pieces where one color is more dominant than the other and they blend or swirl together in the stone.  Also, the color of the stone can be a sign of whether it’s natural or synthetic; if the stone has a greenish-yellow color to the citrine part or if the amethyst has a blue hue to it, it is almost definitely synthetic since these colors do not happen naturally in these stones.  Deep, rich purples, as well as deep golds, are a sign of a true piece of ametrine.

Ametrine can be used for a number of healing purposes.  As a stone that brings harmony to the spirit and body, if you are finding that you’re feeling “out of sorts” or if you have a sense of being disconnected, either from your thoughts or your body, meditating or just relaxing while holding the ametrine in your power hand will help to bring you back into balance.  Ametrine is also believed by many crystal healers to be a stone of male/female balance; if someone is having a hard time connecting to one of these halves of their personalities, or if there is a lack of balance between the two, ametrine can be used for bringing them into harmony.

Using ametrine in meditation can help to open up and empower the third eye.  If you or a client in a healing session are having trouble with their psychic senses, or if there is a feeling of not being in touch or in balance with your intuition or psychic senses, place a piece of ametrine on the third eye and let it rest, giving it a chance to open up and balance the third eye chakra.  Ametrine can also help clear out any lingering negative energy from emotional trauma or emotional worries and concerns which makes this a great stone for working with healing sessions for those that are experiencing issues with releasing and letting go from bad relationships, working through issues of abuse and overall problems with moving on from a bad patch in personal relationships.

When looking for some creative ways to use ametrine, consider the fact that both the properties of amethyst and citrine are contained in this stone, regardless of how much of each is evident from looking at a piece.  Amethyst contains the ability to bring serenity and calm as well as protection while citrine helps with creativity, mental clarity and inner strength and confidence.  Ametrine can be a great stone for students who want to create a talisman for helping with their studies.  Take a piece of ametrine and charge it for this by calling on the aspect of amethyst to grant you a calm, focused state of mind, and the citrine to help you better understand the work and have the confidence to display your understanding through homework assignements and exams.

The color therapy, or color magick, available in ametrine can be very powerful as well since the purple of the amethyst can help with visualizing and mentally creating the image of what you desire while the gold of the citrine can help with manifestation in the physical world.  Holding ametrine or using it as part of spells where manifesting something in the physical world can be quite helpful.  These two colors together can also help with balancing the third eye chakra and the solar plexus chakra.  These are two chakras, that when in balance, can help us to feel and follow our intuitions, our “gut feelings”, more confidently.

In healing for physical purposes ametrine can be used for a number of different purposes including releasing toxins, releasing muscle tension, reducing fever and helping with the aches and pains caused by head or chest congestion.  You can make an elixir with ametrine and take to help with any of these, but it can be especially useful in this manner for toxin release.  If you get massage regularly you know about the need to drink water to help with the flushing of the toxins that are released from the muscle tissue.  Taking 3-6 drops of an ametrine elixir in your water following a massage can help this process along and help you feel not only physically but also mentally refreshed after.

Ametrine is a great stone that has endless possibilities because of the unique combination of energies that it brings.  Even just a small piece can be used for a number of purposes and makes for a great addition to any set of healing crystals.

A simple and practical way for you to make use of your gemstones, aside from carrying, meditating and laying them on and around the body for healing, is to make an elixir or gemstone potion.  These liquid creations can be used in many, many ways; you can take them internally as a way to absorb and incorporate the energy of a stone or crystal in the body, they can be added to plant water to energize them, drops can be added to a pre-ritual bath, or you can even use the charged water for cleansing ritual objects or even just areas in the home that may need some extra energy.  It’s a simple process and one that anyone can work with.

A BIG Word of Caution
Before you begin working with this method it is highly imperative that you purchase a good, solid resource manual for your crystal information as many crystals and stones are actually toxic and NOT recommended for this sort of process.  While any of the stones can be used externally on and around the body, some stones contain very dangerous minerals and inclusions such as sulphur, copper, lead, mercury and more.  I am going to include a list of some of the more popular stones that are known to be toxic and I will include some substitution suggestions as well along with a few source recommendations.

But, with that said, you can work with some of the toxic stones as long as you are creating an elixir that will be used for external purposes only, like for cleansing tools or cleaning the home.  In some crystal books when information on elixirs is given, you may see the suggestion of using elixirs made from toxic stones to be used for anointing the body, but again I have to even caution against because by putting the water made with these stones on the skin it’s possible for the undesired elements to absorb through the skin and into the blood stream.  So again, play it safe and do your research before making any elixirs.

Picking Your Stone
The best way to work with these elixirs is to use a single stone or crystal for each one and to work with taking the elixirs one at a time.  So when you’re making your very first one, try picking a stone that either has a very specific property that you wish to work with, such as carnelian for healing issues of anger or jealousy, or maybe amethyst to help with your psychic development or to open up the third eye before meditation.  When you aren’t sure, or you’re just giving this whole thing a try and don’t know what to work with, you can always used clear quartz as it is a stone that will give your energy vibrations an overall life and balance as well as being able to be used specifically for things like meditation and spiritual development.

Making Gemstone Elixirs
The process of making the elixirs is quite simple and doesn’t require a large amount of tools.  In fact, as long as you have your stones already, you can probably round up everything you need right in your own home.

You Will Need:

• A glass jar or bottle, with a lid, one for each elixir you’re making if you’re making elixirs from multiple types of stones.  NEVER use plastic!
• Spring water, distilled water, or filtered water.  This is important because you don’t want the natural inclusions found in tap water to leach or react with the stones themselves or their possible inclusions.
• A bowl that will be large enough to hold the amount of water you will be using for your elixir (multiple bowls will be needed if you’re doing multiple types of elixirs).
• A measuring cup and funnel for easy pouring.
• A singing bowl (this is for an optional step, but this is a nice touch if you have one)

Once you have gathered together everything, make sure that you cleanse everything, physically and psychically/energetically.  You might want to bring your items into sacred space to sit and charge at your altar overnight.  If you’re familiar with crystal grids (something we’ll talk about on a Wednesday in the future), you can place your bottles within a grid or layout to cleanse them as well.  Otherwise, a simple physical wash, including sterilizing the bottles and then given them a smudging with sage and charge with white light and energy (if you’ve never done this before, or if it’s been a while since you’ve sterilized a baby bottle, simply submerge your bottles, and droppers if you’re using them, in a pot of water on the stove, turn on the heat and let it come to a boil and let the bottles sit in the boiling water for five minutes, remove with tongs because they will be very hot, and place on a drying rack or paper towels to cool and air dry).

While you’re waiting for your bottles to dry you can work with cleansing your stone.  Give it a physical cleansing in cool, running water and then dry it.  Charge your stone with your intent; all stones have multiple energy properties so ask that the specific one(s) that you are looking to call into your elixir come forward and focus on sensing that energy or energies growing and becoming the dominate vibrations within the stone.  Place the stone on your altar and allow this to sit and charge until it is time to add it to your water.  You may also want to place the stone in direct sunlight or you can leave the stone with the water for the same 24 hours that it will be charging for.  Some people like to charge their stones for several days in sunlight, but use whatever stone charging and activation method you normally use or feel drawn to using.

Next, take your water and place it in a window sill, on your altar, or in another space that is near a window where it can catch direct sun and moonlight.  Do not worry if it is not a full moon, however working with the moon phases while creating your elixirs is another wonderful way to add extra energy to your potion.  The idea here is to charge the water with sun and moon energy for a full 24 hours.   The energy of the moon is always there, even when we can’t see it, so as long as you’re placing the bowl in line with an exposed window, you’re fine.

The next step, which happens once the water has charged, is to bring together your stone and water in a bottle for storage.  There are several ways to do this.  The first way is to simply take your stone, place it inside your bottle or jar, and then fill it with your charged water.  The other way utilizes a singing bowl.  If you have a singing bowl, first physically and psychically cleanse and charge it.  Place your stone inside the bottom of the bowl and fill the bowl with the water.  Be careful not to fill the bowl to the top because if it’s too full you’re going to spill the water and possible end up with quite a wet mess (I bet you can’t guess I’m speaking from experience).  Take a moment to center yourself and call up the energy that you’re looking to charge your elixir with and begin to play your bowl.  You’ll notice that the water will vibrate from the action of the bowl which not only adds the vibrational energy of the bowl itself but also activates the crystal energy on another level.  When you are ready allow the vibrations to settle on their own and then you can begin to add the water from the bowl into your jar or bottle.  At this stage you can either place the crystal in the bottle as well or, if you wish to keep the crystal out of the bottle, you can just pour in the water.  The work with the singing bowl and the vibrational activation will have merged the crystal’s energy with the water already.  Personally, I still like to keep the stone in the main storage bottle, even when I use this method.

Once the bottle is filled and sealed be sure to label your bottle.  Include the date, moon phase or astrological timing if you worked with that as a factor, the type of water used, the stone used, the method used (did you use the singing bowl or just place everything together in the bottle), and the specific purpose of this elixir.  This is important because you can create two or three elixirs using the same stone but with a different intention. Let the jar sit for 24 hours in sun and moonlight.  Over this next day you want to keep an eye on the bottle to make sure that there is no scum or algae forming either in the water itself or on the glass of the jar.  If it does you’ll need to toss the water out, sterilize the bottle, wash the stone, and try again.  This will happen if you missed one of these steps or didn’t properly or completely cleanse something in the initial process.

Store your bottles in a cool place our of direct sunlight.  It might sound a little silly, but if you have made multiple elixirs for different purposes be sure to store the bottles so they are not touching.  It is possible for the energies from the bottles converge in this situation and it could confuse your work.   But, on the reverse, if you have something like a bottle of body lotion or shampoo that you’d like to infuse with the energy of a specific elixir, you can place the bottles together, touching, and the energy from the stone in the elixir will mingle with the other item(s).  This is a great way to add some of the benefits of the elixir energy to something that shouldn’t necessarily have water added to it.

If you are going to take your elixir internally, take 3-6 drops 3-4 times a day, either under the  tongue or add to a glass of drinking water.  There is usually no real restriction to how long you can make use of these elixirs, so use them when and for as long as you feel you need to.  Be sure to periodically check your bottles for any contamination as well!

Toxic Stones
Here is a list of some stones that people may think of using for making elixirs because they may use them often in other healing or crystal work, however, these are all toxic.  This is by no means a complete list!  Please be sure to go online, call a gem shop, or purchase a comprehensive gemstone guide to reference if you are in any way unsure as to the toxicity of a stone. I am including the known inclusion that makes the stone toxic for internal use as well as a few safe substitutes as well and will add a few book recommendations at the end.

Amazonite – (copper), substitute with Aventurine
Amber – (toxic dust, fumes, raw amber will disintegrate in water)
Angelite – (lead sulfate)
Cobalt-Calcite/Pink Calcite – (cobalt)
Coral – (while organic, bacteria and toxins develop and form within it which can be dangerous when ingestied), substitute with Carnelian or Red Jasper
Emerald – (aluminum), substitute with Aquamarine or Peridot
Garnet – (aluminum)
Labradorite – (aluminum)
Lapis Lazuli – (can contain copper)
Malachite – (copper)
Moldavite – (aluminum)
Moonstone – (some contain aluminum, but other toxins can also be present depending on the type of moonstone)
Mother of Pearl and Pearl – (organic but toxins in the water when it is formed will be present)
Ruby – (aluminum)
Sodalite – (aluminum), substitute with Carnelian
Tiger’s Eye – (can contain asbestos and dyes)
Topaz – (aluminum), substitute with Citrine
Tourmaline – (aluminum)
Turquoise – (copper)

A few book recommendations:
Love is in the Earth: A Kaliedescope of Crystals by Melody Over 700 pages and one of the most popular and recommended reference guides for stones and crystals and their use in healing and metaphysics.  A must have for anyone looking to work with stones in this way.

The Essential Crystal Handbook by Simon and Sue Lilly – This is a great, small book that you can toss in your bag and take with you when you go shopping for your crystals.  Lots of tips for working with stones for healing, some great meditation tips, and excellent information on over 100 different stones.  One great thing about this book is you will also get the chemical composition for each which can help you quickly identify those that could possibly contain toxic elements.

Cunningham’s Encyclipedia of Crystal, Gem and Metal Magic by Scott  Cunningham – A wonderful quick reference for some of the more commonly used stones, with information on substitutions, picking stones by specific intents, and information on magickal and healing uses.

This week we’re going to take a look at a unique stone that isn’t even really a stone and who has some special properties while being steeped in mystery and legend.

First let’s start with where moldavite came from.  The origins of the stone are somewhat debated because of the uncertainty some stone and crystal experts have with the claim that it was created by a meteorite.  Regardless, the common held belief of it’s origin is that a meteorite headed toward earth 15 million years ago collided with surrounding rock at the surface and the crystals were then formed.  The step by step of how it occurs has been broken down by scientists to be in the following manner:

1. A meteorite around 500 to 1000 meters in diameter reaches Earth at a high rate of speed and once making its way through the stratosphere, the front of the meteorite reaches a temperature of around 18,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Right before the meteorite falls the temperature of the Earth’s rock surface gets so hot it becomes molten and the sheer pressure displaces the rock mass into the atmosphere in the form of magma (molten rock which is equivalent to volcano lava).
3. Once the meteorite falls on to the surface of the Earth an explosion occurs as a result of kinetic energy being discharged.  It’s at this time that the meteorite itself evaporates because of the large amount of heat released upon impact.
4. The end result is a crater in the Earth’s surface that has layers of both the Earth’s crust and layers of subsoil being shifted.

It is thought that moldavite was created from the re-melted rock around the fall site of the meteorite and often the sites where it is found tends to be in a rounded or disc shape which could also lend to the idea that this is where a meteorite actually hit.  Other area where the moldavite have been found that don’t fit this description are thought to be a result of magma flying through the air or rock displaced during impact.

The stone was named after the town of Moldauthein, Bohemia where it is mainly found.  Today the stones are harvested from the Moldau River Valley in the Czech Republic and, since the stones aren’t naturally occurring in the Earth, they will eventually become extinct.

The makeup of moldavite is one of the things that makes it so unique.  It is a form of tektite, a natural form of glass, which is also believed to be created from the impact of meteorites and the combination of that with rock and soil.  Tektite, however, is found on other parts of the world, such as the Middle East, Polynesia and the Philippines.    This is one of the reasons for the uniqueness of the moldavite; it is a cousin, so to speak, of tektite as it’s makeup is very similar but is found in a very different part of the world.

Both moldavite and tektite are made of a composite of SiO2 (for you non-chemical geeks that would be silicon dioxide).  The thing that causes moldavite to be different is the inclusion of and varied levels of K2O (potassium oxide) and CaO (calcium oxide).  Moldavite  can vary from a very light, almost sea green, to an olive, to a deep green/brown.

So that’s all your technical information on moldavite that we really need to know about.  Now you know how it’s made, what makes it’s color so unique and that it is quite rare and will grow more rare in time.  It’s not a stone that is often found tumbled but is more commonly sold as raw pieces like the one shown above.  In it’s most common forms you’ll find pieces to be no larger than 3-5″ on the large side and with a rippled or pitted surface.  However faceted pieces that have been prepared for jewelry use are available in all forms of baubles, however they can be quite expensive depending on the side of the actual moldavite.

So what can we use moldavite for within the bounds of crystal work?

Moldavite is a stone that is believed to have extraterrestrial properties.  All that means is that the stone carries energies that are beyond (“extra”) the energies of the planet Earth (“terrestrial”).  The phrase is derived from the Latin words “extra” for outside and “terrestris” meaning “of or relating to the Earth”.  Because of this the moldavite stone is often looked to as a stone for meditation and connecting to heavenly bodies, for reaching the realms beyond the Earthly plane.  It is used as a stone for raising the higher self to other spiritual levels of consciousness and because of this is a common stone for healing the higher self.  It is also used by some people for past life regression or mediation work and for the healing that can take place there.  In meditations where either communicating with the higher self or past life work is desired a piece of moldavite can be placed on the third eye.  Moldavite is a stone that is said to be able to reach beyond time and space, so unlike some stones used just for healing the past, moldavite can also address healing for the future as well and some people have been known to experience “flash forwards” while using it for spiritual healing.

Moldavite isn’t a stone really known for having any one specific healing property or having dominance over one healing aspect.  Instead it’s a stone that is often used to amplify to work of other stones.  It’s a trigger stone as well and when placed in an area on the body in a crystal layout with other stones can help to open up and release blockages that might be extremely difficult to open up otherwise.  Because of the high vibration that moldavite carries it can be used on any chakra, or placed at the crown chakra, to help open up, balance and cleanse them.

The deep green color of most moldavite is related to the heart chakra and, in turn, emotional aspects and issues.  Many people who find themselves somewhat anxious around moldavite may have deep emotional issues they are either fearful of addressing, in denial of, or refusing to release.  If you’re working with someone and you suspect that this could be an issue in the healing work you are doing with them, introducing moldavite into your work could help be an indicator.

Because of all the great things that moldavite can do, both in healing and as a booster in magickal work because of it’s ability to bring together cosmic and earthly forces and energy, it is highly advised that anyone doing crystal healing or making crystals part of their regular magickal process acquire and include a piece of moldavite, no matter what size, into their practice and crystal collection.

This week I thought we could take a look at a practical use for crystals that can help promote and enhance healing on all levels of  body, mind and spirit.  This is something that many of you who already have a collection of basic stones can work with.  The laying on of stones, the technique of placing crystals and stones on and around the body, can help to cleanse and balance energies in the body, aid in emotional release, and can also balance the aura while drawing in light and energy to the individual’s life.  While it is always best to properly cleanse, dedicate and program your crystals for their specific use, you can still work with crystals in layouts with stones that have been simply cleansed with water and/or smoke.  The energies and powers of the stones will activate and work with the aura and energy field of the body naturally.

When working with the stones in layouts you can use stones in any formation.  Polished and tumbled, raw, points, beads, faceted or eggs.  Keeping in mind where the stones will be placed and being sure that they will stay in place for  the duration of the work should be the only thing that really limits you as trying to keep a crystal ball on the body can be difficult and could cause a distraction during a healing session.  Stones that have some sort of flat surface are helpful when being placed on the body since they will be more likely to hold their place.  When placing the stones around the body you can use large pieces, heavier pieces, and oddly shaped pieces and they can be placed on holders or pillows around the body to keep them in place.

There are several different ways to work with crystal layouts and if you have other healing skills, like Reiki, you can use them together to enhance the process.  If you are a Reiki practitioner one way you can work with this is to use just clear quartz crystals on each of the seven chakra points, or you can work with stones that correspond to the chakras themselves.  Once the stones are in place you can then work to clear and balance the energy of the aura down the meridian of the body with hands on Reiki from head to toe.  Using crystals that have points, like the case of the quartz crystals, point the points toward the feet so that the energy being cleansed from the body will flow down to the feet.  You will want to keep everything moving in the same direction.  So if you’re doing work that is aimed at releasing or balancing, then having the stones point to the feet/Earth and moving the energy in that direction will be ideal.  If the energy needs to be drawn in, if you’re working essentially from Earth to Sky, then you would have points all going upward and the energy flowing from feet to head, or root to crown.

Working Earth to Sky:  Stones are placed with all points toward the receiver’s crown.  Working in this direction helps the move the individual’s energy to a higher vibration and helps to balance and increase spiritual energy.

Working Sky to Earth:  Stone are placed with all points toward the receiver’s feet.  Working in this direction helps to ground the energy from crown to root allowing you to facilitating grounding and releasing energy to the Earth.

Once you have accessed with the individual being worked on which direction that you will work, ask them to lay flat on their back.  Have them lay on a yoga mat, a massage table or some other soft, padded surface.  Place a pillow under their head and under their knees (many people don’t think of placing the pillow under the knees but having a bolster there helps to alleviate possible strain on the lower back while laying flat in this manner).

Take a few moments to call on any Spirit Guides, angels or healing spirits that you and/or your receiver wish to work with and have present during the session.  Light candles and incense if desired to honor those spirits and the spirit of healing that will take place.

Begin by placing a stone above the head at the crown and then a stone below the feet.  Next you will have your receiver place their hands at their sides, palms up, and place a quartz in their dominate hand (the right hand for right-handed people, the left for left-handed people) and then place a stone related to the type of work being done in the other hand. For example if the purpose of the work is to bring more loving energy into the person use a rose quartz; if the goal is to bring protection you can use an amethyst or a piece of onyx.  If you are unsure, or if you are doing just general cleansing, you can use another clear quartz.

Next move around the chakras placing stones in their appropriate places moving from feet to head.  This is where you need to really listen to and follow your inner guidance.  If you are working with a blend of different stones, use the ones that you feel drawn to use.  The general guide is to place stones that correspond to the color of the chakra.  For example any red stones can be used root, any orange stones can be used at the sacral chakra, etc.  (The placement of the root chakra is sometimes debated among healers.  Some believe that the root chakra is not a stationary chakra and that it moves to wherever the body is physically rooted at the time.  In the case of laying down it’s believed that the root would be at the based of the feet.)  If you place a stone on the body and it rolls off the body, then this is likely a sign that this is not the best stone to use for this chakra, so try another one.  If a stone placed in one chakra doesn’t stay in place but rolls into another chakra point and comes to rest, then allow yourself to be guided into using it in that area, even if it isn’t “traditionally” right for that chakra.  Listen to your Guides and your intuition.  Healing doesn’t need to be a rigid practice and listing to the energy of the stones and the energy of your receiver is more important than practicing this method by route.

At this point, once all the stones are in place ,you as the healer have the option to either employ other techniques like Reiki or you can just sit by the person and wait, allowing the stones to do their work and allowing your intuition to guide you as to when the work is complete.  You may find after a while that stones begin to naturally roll off the body one by one which will indicate that the receiver’s aura has absorbed the energy that it needs from the stones.  You may also find that your receiver will verbalize, either through words or more primal sounds, that they feel they are done.  Again, listen to your receiver and follow your intuition.

When you are done, take all the stones and places them somewhere away from your other stones until you can cleanse them.  Give your receiver time to ground and come back to normal waking consciousness and help them to sit up.  Give them some water and ask them to share any experiences they had during the session.  Some may have had very vivid dream like images, felt specific types of sensations around the areas of specific chakras, and others may have found they spontaneously experiences some astral projection.  Give them time to process and make notes for them.  This information can be helpful for future sessions as well.

There are many, many different types of crystal layouts out there and you can create your own based on the specific needs of yourself or your receiver.  Here are a few others that you can work with.

Claifying and Releasing

• 1 smokey quartz below the feet
• 1 clear quartz above the head
• 1 turquoise to strengthen vitality or 1 lapis lazuli to release deep stress in the center of the forehead
• Stay in the layout for five to ten minutes or until the stone on the forehead releases naturally

Balancing Natural Energy

• 1 smokey quartz below the feet
• 1 clear quartz above the head
• 1 rose quartz at the center of the chest
• Stay in the layout for five to ten minutes or until the stone on the forehead releases naturally

In the tradition of not feeling as though you have to follow strict, rigid rules for placing stones or where to lay them, you can use these stone combination in whatever layout you personally feel drawn to when working with your receiver or yourself.

Calming

• 1 clear quartz point
• 1 smokey quartz
• 1 rose quartz
• 1 turquoise

Concentration, Memory and Study Help

• 1 clear quartz
• 1 labradorite
• 1 smokey quartz
• 1 black tourmaline
• 1 amethyst
• 1 sodalite

For more on crystal layouts, check out the book “Laying on of Stones” by D.J. Conway for many different layouts that address both physical and spiritual issues.  You can also find a number of various books on crystal healing in the Sacred Mists Shoppe.