Crystal Shapes

Crystals come in all shapes and sizes, Clear Quartz in particular. In fact, there are so many varieties available that sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming. Moreover, some crystals may exhibit multiple attributes. Hopefully, this post will clarify some of that.

• The most basic form of crystal is the classic single termination. This is a crystal with one point. It can be used to direct energy, either toward an object or away from it. For example, one might point a crystal at an object to empower it, or do a protection ritual where one sits in a circle of Smoky Quartz, points facing outward, to direct negativity away from the caster.
• A long point crystal (which may also be double terminated - see below) is simply a long crystal with a point at at least one end. These can be natural or artificially sculpted, but the end result is a crystal wand, used frequently in both ritual and healing. They are quick and efficient, moving energy on the spot.
• A double terminated crystal is exactly what it sounds like - a crystal which is pointed on both ends. This formation is less common in nature and may be artificially shaped. This stone directs energy in two directions at once and is a stone of balance, integrating spirit and matter. They absorb negativity and break old habits, making them helpful for overcoming addiction. Double terminations assist with integrating blocked parts of the body or psyche, and placing one over the third eye enhances telepathy.
• A cluster, or crystal matrix, is a group of multiple points fixed to a single base. These radiate energy outward, and may also absorb negative energies. These are most often programmed and then set in place to do their work, making them useful primarily for affecting the energy of a space. Clusters can also cleanse single crystals, if said crystal is left next to a cluster overnight.
• An abundance crystal is a cluster where one point is significantly longer than the others. These stones are thought to draw abundance and prosperity.
• A geode is a geological phenomenon where a rock, hollowed by erosion, is infiltrated with crystals such that when the rock is broken open, the crystals glitter on the inside of the formation. These can be very small or many feet across. Geodes hold and amplify energy within themselves, allowing for a slow, steady release of power. They have many associations with the Divine Mother, the Cosmic Egg, and creative power. They were called Thunderstones by some Native American tribes, and were believed to be the eggs of Thunderbirds.
• Phantom Quartz occur when, over millions of years, a crystal grows entirely around another crystal, creating the "phantom" image of a crystal within a crystal. They have absorbed millions of years' worth of learning which can be accessed through meditation. Phantoms put the past into perspective, allowing for growth and personal evolution.
• Spheres (your classic crystal ball) are nearly always sculpted by man. They emit energy in all directions, and act as a focus for meditation. If one's intent is to view the future, staring at a crystal sphere (this need not be Clear Quartz - many, many varieties are available) will relax the mind and allow visions to enter the mind.
• Think of a square crystal as acting like a battery. They consolidate energy and provide a grounding influence. Salt is the most common square crystal.
• Pyramidal crystals will typically have a square base and four faces meeting in a single point. These are your manifestation stones, drawing energy up from the base, focusing it, and projecting one's intent from the point. A simple manifestation spell is to set a picture of your desire under a pyramid crystal.
• Egg shapes are less common in crystals than spheres, but they actually tend to be less expensive. These project a very gentle healing energy, and are ideal for finding and repairing energy imbalances in the body. The narrower end can be used as a reflexology or acupuncture tool. They can also be employed as worry stone in times of stress.
• Some stones have no definite structure, and may be referred to as amorphous solids. If you hear "amorphous", think "glass". Natural glasses - Obsidian, Apache Tear, Tektite, etc. - all have amorphous structures. Energy flows quickly through them, making them fast-acting stones. 
• All crystals with many layers, like Lepidolite or Desert Rose, act sympathetically, such that one can see the "many layers" of a situation and act accordingly.
• Tabular crystals are kind of like slices of bread, in that you have two opposite, flat sides which are much wider than the other two sides. Many of them have grooves usually running perpendicular to the length of the stone. These can be rubbed to activate stores of information. The stone itself offers little resistance to energy and directs it easily. They are tools of communication, preventing confusion and misunderstanding. 
• Elestial stones have many terminations folding over another multilayered crystal. Their energy is very gentle, soothing emotions and removing fear. These are stones of past life regression and karma work.
• Occlusions can occur within any sort of crystal, and are essentially where one stone has another, separate mineral inside it. Tourmalated Quartz, for example, is Clear Quartz with Tourmaline occlusions. These stones amplify the energy of the inner crystal and direct it. 
• True generator crystals have six sides all meeting equally in a single point. Large or small, these stones are ideal for producing energy and provide a powerful kick start to any magickal endeavor. In other formations, such as the one I purchased, multiple smaller crystals may be combined to create a formation favorable to energy genesis.
• A generator cluster is one in which many individual, long points are all fixed at the same base. Each point can be programmed for a different purpose, unlike in traditional clusters.
• A so-called "manifestation crystal" is one where several larger crystals totally enclose a smaller crystal. They are very powerful for getting what one wants, but to make a bad pun, one's intentions must be crystal clear, without any ambivalence. Generally, they work best when one's desires are not selfish. These stones can also stimulate creativity, promote visualization, and improve the effectiveness of group work.
• Cathedral Quartz are usually very large specimens with one bigger point and at least one other medium-sized termination, joined at the base. They plug directly into the universal unconscious and Akashic Records, making them the metaphorical Google of information-retrieving stones. At least one source suggests that these stones seem initially to posses no vibration whatsoever, but which after careful examination proves to have "an eerie inner glow". Having never seen one, I can neither confirm nor deny this observation.
• Record Keeper crystals are recognized by the triangle shapes etched on their sides. Some may also have a chevron pattern of etching. They represent the total harmony of body, mind, and spirit, and are portals of spiritual wisdom. Placed on the Third Eye, one can access one's past, personal or collective. Activate them by gently rubbing the pyramid shape.
• An "etched" crystal may appear to be covered in hieroglyphics, cuneiform, or other forms of ancient writing. These stones provide a direct link to the past. Use them to access your past lives as well as the esoteric knowledge of our ancient ancestors. They can be especially helpful with connecting to ancient rituals and initiations.
• Scepter Quartz looks rather like a club, in that the main, thicker crystal has grown out of a shorter, stubbier crystal. They generate and amplify energy, and are excellent healing stones, fixing the cause of a problem rather than just its symptoms. According to legend, these were symbols of power in Atlantis and Lemuria. Use them to solve infertility or to balance male and female energies in the body. 
• A reversed scepter has an additional small crystal projecting from the base of the primary stone. These transmit healing energy, cleanse it, and return it to the healer. They soothe the mind and remove illusions.
• Windows occur in crystals that have two pentagonal faces. The small, triangular face between them is the window. These provide a doorway into the self, and can help one balance the material and the spiritual. They can also help to find missing persons if one projects a strong enough visualization into the window.
• A self-healed crystal has many small points where it was broken from its base and then laid down fresh crystals. As one might suspect, these are healing stones and teachers of the healing arts.
• Quartz specimens with an indentation or aperture in it are called key crystals; the indentation is often three or six sided. Meditating with these crystals unlocks the hidden parts of the self, as well as information you may not otherwise be able to access.
• Tantric Twins (aka Soulmate crystals) are two stones of approximately equal size joined along one side, which also have clearly distinct and separate terminations. They enable the bearer to find someone with whom they truly connect and form a harmonious relationship. This could mean a romantic partnership, but could also be a lifelong friend.
• A twinned stone where one crystal is smaller than the other may be used to strengthen parent-child or employer-employee relationships.

An Update

First - an update on those activities which I mentioned in my last post! I did indeed end up doing a crystal spread and meditation. I went with chakra- themed stones, because I was feeling off energetically, and so laid the following crystals over the appropriate energy centers: Black Tourmaline for the Root chakra, Red Jasper for the Sacral chakra, Tiger's Eye for the Solar Plexus chakra, Green Calcite for the Heart chakra, Turquoise for the Throat chakra, Lepidolite for the Third Eye chakra, and Clear Quartz for the Crown chakra. I did this while laying down on my carpet, with a blanket thrown over my legs because it was chilly. There was a bit of stiffness in my lower back, but as I began the meditation, this relaxed and dissipated.

Afterwards, I walked over to the campus lake and rented a kayak. I spent about an hour paddling around, enjoying the weather and the wildlife.

There were a ton of ducks, and the turtles were also out in force, basking in the sunlight. By the time I was through, I'd counted eleven, including one itty bitty softshell turtle that was barely an inch and a half long. Moreover, there were many frogs sitting in the shallows, and I spotted a school of minnows darting just under the surface. All things told, it was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.
That evening, I had had plans to go to a meditation class at the Gaia Center, but when I got there, it looked like the class was in a different location.

I ended up just wandering around town a bit, and besides finding a little Chinese shop which sold delicious bubble tea, I also stumbled upon the Gaia Center's labyrinth, which is painted on an abandoned piece of concrete.

There's also a lot of pretty trees surrounding it, and a little waterfall.
Monday night was Esbat, and also represented my first official ritual since moving onto campus. I had located a really pretty area behind the dining hall near a creek where there was a grove of trees and several stumps. Since it was out of the way, I thought I might use it for my ritual. I don't usually get to do rituals outside, as doing so in our backyard would be more than a trifle obvious, and this seemed like the perfect place to get away from prying eyes.

I grabbed my travel altar and set up camp on one of the flatter stumps. The ritual went really well, I think, albeit a bit short, and even though I was in a pretty secluded area, there were still a few people who walked by. I'll probably do my Mabon ritual there, though, and see how it goes. Because it was a so-called "Supermoon", the moon rise was just beautiful. It was butter-yellow, and huge in the sky as it peeked up over the trees.

My cameraphone cannot begin to do the phenomenon justice, but for the record, that yellow blob in the middle of the picture is the moon (the one on the left is a street lamp).

December 26th, 2013

I was bored this morning, and frequently when I am bored I play with my photomanipulation software. For lack of another idea, I decided to make a quick illustration of the chakra crystal layout I did yesterday, in case my halfhazard explanation in the previous post was somewhat ambiguous. All the images are shopped together off the internet, so don't sue me, please.

From the bottom up, the list runs as follows:

• Grounding Cord - Andalusian Cross Stone
• Base Chakra - Red Jasper
• Sacral Chakra - Carnelian
• Solar Plexus Chakra - Citrine
• Heart Chakra - Rose Quartz
• Throat Chakra - Turquoise 
• Third Eye Chakra - Lapis Lazuli
• Crown Chakra - Lepidolite
• Higher Crown Chakra - Clear Quartz

Get comfortable - you may want a mat or a blanket, the latter especially if you're likely to get cold. I always find that energy work makes me feel warm, so I didn't use one, but you may find differently. You may want to play music - my family was watching a movie, so I popped in my earbuds, but sometimes silent meditation can be even more powerful. Lay out the stones, from the bottom up. You needn't use the same ones on my list - any stone of the same color or correspondence will do the trick if it's meaningful to you. Getting the last few in place can be a little awkward if you're working by yourself since you can't move around as much.
Then relax - your eyes can be open or closed as you prefer. Breath regularly and focus on each of the chakras in turn. As you contemplate the meaning of each energy vortex, look at your life specifically, see how each chakra relates to it, and decide what changes, if any, need to be made on an energetic level to bring things into balance. If, for example, your work with the heart chakra shows you that your relationships have been lacking due to an inner lack of self-acceptance, then broaden the energy flow to the region, filling it with white light that assimilates into the chakra's pink or green glow. On the other hand, some chakras might be too open, bringing too much of an energy into your life. If this is the case, temper the flow of the energy vortex, bringing it back down to its appropriate level. Work with the stones' natural vibrations to bring the energy centers into equilibrium.
Seek any additional insight from the meditation. Then allow excess energy to drain into the ground. Visualize it returning to the earth and being recycled through the planet's endless cycles. Before you return to your daily life, you may want to do a quick aura combing with the Quartz crystal. Just run it through your aura on all sides, allowing it to fill in any holes in the energy and smooth any rough patches. It only takes a few minutes and feels great afterwards. Make sure to cleanse your crystals after working with them.

December 25th, 2013

Merry Christmas to all those of the Christian faith, most of my family included. I got a lot of wonderful presents from my parents and Santa, but there were a few in particular I wanted to share...

I received Llewellyn's 2014 Faerie calendar, with illustrations by Linda Ravenscroft, and The Crystal Bible, by Judy Hall. The former included this great picture:

The label read "Titania and Puck". After playing Puck in our school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream this year, I was especially appreciative thereof.

I spent most of my day reading my new book and marking the stones I already own with sticky notes. It gives a little bit of physiological information about the individual crystals, but most of the entries are delegated to explaining the metaphysical properties they have, and how they can be used in healing. The book also has an index with lots of great information, including zodiac associations, divinatory meanings, and more. Each stone is illustrated in full color.
Other than the obvious reason of "now I have a Pagan resource regarding minerals", I'm incredibly pleased with my gift because it enabled me to identify a very unusual stone of mine.
I was given one of these by my grandma earlier this year:

Neither of us had any idea what it was. Then, reading through the appropriately named Bible today, I learned that it is what is called a Chrysanthemum Stone. Look it up! Or don't - now that I know what it is, I can do a proper post about its properties in the near future. I also decided to try one of the crystal layouts recommended in the back of the book. It was a chakra layout, and a reasonably simple one at that.
I took a lie down on the floor - my bed is really too soft for this sort of work - but a firm mattress or mat would work just as well. The book said to lay a brown stone in front of the feet, a red one at the base of the spine, an orange stone below the navel, a yellow one on the diaphragm, a pink one on the chest, a blue one on the throat (don't move around too much or it'll slide off), and an indigo one on the forehead. Then place a violet stone above where your head is laying, and a white or clear stone above that. I chose to use Andalusite, Red Jasper, Carnelian, Citrine, Rose Quartz, Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli, Lepidolite, and Clear Quartz, respectively. Then I put in my headphones and played some quiet New Age music while I meditated for about 20 minutes. It was ridiculously relaxing and insightful, and it seemed to clear up both my headache and the back pain I usually get from lying on the floor. I'm definitely going to have to get into the habit of working with my stones more frequently!
And then, finally, I figured out why I've been feeling somewhat off-balance all month. After Thanksgiving, I moved my mini shrine to make space for my Yule tree. Unfortunately, I never thought to change the orientation of the things on the shrine, so that my objects for water were pointed South instead of West, and so on. I about clapped myself on the forehead when I saw that, but it's all fixed now and the energy imbalance is corrected. What a day!

August 8th, 2013

Lepidolite

Physical Characteristics: Lepidolite is a form of Mica that appears in a classic mottling of white, lavender, purple, and sometimes pink.

In Nature: The stone is often found in the same rock as Tourmaline and Amblygamite. Its color comes from the presence of Lithium in the stone.

Chemical Composition: K(Li, Al)3(Al, Si)4O10(F, OH)2

Mohs Scale Hardness: 2.5 - 4 (low)

Can be Found: The United States and Brazil

Healing Properties*: With regard to health, Lepidolite helps its bearer to overcome insomnia as well as all kinds of addictions, including anorexia and similar disorders. Placed on the body, Lepidolite finds the source of disease, allegedly giving off a gentle vibration when it locates the problem. It combats a wide range of conditions, from the average (allergies, exhaustion, etc.) to the severe (Alzheimer's and epilepsy). A glass of water in which a chunk of Lepidolite has been soaked is an ideal elixir for dealing with the effects of menopause. The stone is a powerful painkiller and reduces the ill-effects of anaesthetics. Likewise, it may reduce one's dependency on medication.

Magickal Properties: Lepidolite is a stone epitomizing calm, trust, and acceptance, thus enhancing self-love, patience, and optimism. It is extremely useful to those working to reduce stress, depression, and obsessive modes of thought. As a stone of transformation, Lepidolite releases old psychological and behavioral patterns, thus inducing change. It calms the mind in periods of transition and encourages the ability to achieve goals independently. It is a wonderful agent of dream recall, and lends growing energy to gardening endeavors. The stone attracts supportive friends and colleagues, as well as opportunities to succeed. Given its purple color, Lepidolite is a stone of spirituality and grants access to spiritual realms and the Akashic Records. It is reassuring for those new to psychic work, or for those who previously had a bad psychic experience.

Chakra Association: Fourth (Hearth), Fifth (Throat), Sixth (Third Eye), and Seventh (Crown) chakras

Element: Water

Energy: Receptive

Planetary Association: Jupiter and Neptune

*Magickal healing should never take the place of seeing a doctor and following any recommended prescriptions, actions, or other advice. Magick works best in tandem with physical efforts, anyway, so don't skimp on those check-ups!

August 5th, 2013

Whoo hoo! The World of Faeries Festival was AWESOME!
I went over to Hazelnut’s house on Friday night. We were up Saturday morning at 6:30 to get into costume and buy our lunch for the day at Subway. Since we were volunteering, we had to be at the festival grounds by 8:30; she and I helped set things up and got an early look around at the vendors.

Here's me as a Time Faery named Amser.

And here's Hazelnut as a Fox Faery named Corra.

The grounds were beautiful - we had perfect weather both Saturday and Sunday. It was warm but not hot, and there was always a gentle breeze going.

New this year to the Fest was this gorgeous Andalusian Unicorn. His rider performed a bit of dressage, and all the little fairy girls and boys got to pet his (very soft) nose.

There were a lot of other great costumes, including Nautica, the Water Faery.

There was also the ever-popular "statue lady" and her pet dove, Noah.

Then, completely by surprise, we ran into Raincloud and her recently acquired boyfriend, Fox. It was wonderful to see them again!

In addition to all the wonderful people, the Faery Fest always includes wonderful things to purchase. I spent a boatload of cash, but I haven't even the tiniest of regrets. What all did I get? Let us see...

 

The final count includes:

• Beaded pentacle necklace
• Beaded Goddess necklace
• Tumbled Howlite
• Tumbled Angelite
• Tumbled Celestite
• Tumbled Lapis Lazuli
• Tumbled Lepidolite
• Tumbled Apache Tear
• Tumbled Fairy Cross
• Tumbled Jade
• Tumbled Serpentine, carved with a Goddess figure
• De-Stress medicine pouch including seven additional stones
• Clock and key necklace
• Fairy dust necklace
• Nectarine-Guava lip balm
• Spearmint-Eucalyptus soap
• Mini steampunk top hat (see following picture)
• Celtic cross earrings and matching Snowflake Obsidian necklace (not pictured)

See? It has little elastic bands on the bottom for sliding onto headbands.

My legs will be stiff for a week, but I couldn't have had more fun with my friend. Can't wait for next year!