May 17th, 2017

I don't believe I ever shared a photo of it, but one of my birthday gifts this year was a piece of Polychrome Jasper from Rebekka's store carved in the shape of a heart. Now that I've had a little free time over my summer vacation, I finally got around to researching its properties.

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Polychrome Jasper 

(aka Desert Jasper)

Physical Characteristics: Polychrome Jasper is so named for the myriad colors it can contain, the list of which includes red, brown, purple, yellow, grey, and teal. These colors are the product of mineral admixtures, usually iron oxides.

In Nature: Jaspers are micro-crystalline, fine-grained, and opaque stones. They are comprised of massive (i.e. formed in a mass) formations of Chalcedony Quartz.

Chemical Composition: SiO2

Mohs Scale Hardness: 7 (medium-high)

Can be Found: Madagascar

Healing Properties*: Use Polychrome Jasper to boost your energy; it may be helpful for managing chronic fatigue, exhaustion as a result of a mental illness, or similar conditions.

Magickal Properties: Polychrome or Desert Jasper is a figure stone, which is to say that certain specimens may appear to show images of people, animals, landscapes, or symbols, and one's associations with that image can impact the properties of the stone. The properties can also vary based on what colors are present (see below). 

Generally, Polychrome Jasper is a stone with fiery energy, associated with action, passion, and liveliness. It can be a powerful tool for transforming one's life trajectory into something more desirable; it can be used similarly for new relationships. Additionally, use Polychrome Jasper for grounding, and for finding peace and self-worth during difficult times.

Color properties:

• Red/Red-orange: Enthusiasm, physical and spiritual vitality
• Rose: New love, romance, and/or relationships
• Purple: Awe, mystery, dream interpretation, renewal
• Teal: Temperance, restoring calm, relieving stress, overcoming conflict, protection in the face of cruelty
• Yellow: Happiness, cheerfulness, contentment

Chakra Association: Root (First), Solar Plexus (Third) chakras

Element: Fire

Energy: Projective

Planetary Association: Earth, Mars

*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!

April 23rd, 2017

Orthoceras

Physical Characteristics: Orthoceras fossils are the remains of slender, elongate shelled animals, which look similar to related nautiloid cephalopods, making identification difficult.

In Nature: With a name meaning "straight horn", Orthoceras is an extinct genus of nautiloid cephalopod, specifically of the variety native to the Baltic States and Sweden. It lived during the Paleozoic and Triassic periods, and is typically found in a limestone matrix.

Chemical Composition: CaCO3 matrix, with a fossil of varying mineral composition

Mohs Scale Hardness: 7.5-8 (high)

Can be Found: Baltic States and Sweden

Healing Properties*: Orthoceras fossils have been used to lessen the symptoms of anxiety and depression, and to heal conditions related to the spine and to aging.

Magickal Properties: Like with many fossils, Orthoceras is rooted in energies pertaining to time; it can assist in past life discovery and meditation, moving past old traumas, and in working through transition periods. It is likewise a stone of business success, promoting prosperity and financial stability. In energy work, Orthoceras can assist with the development of psychic abilities and in Reiki healing.

Chakra Association: Root (First) chakra

Element: Earth

Energy: Receptive

Planetary Association: Earth

*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!

Election 2016

I don't usually get political on this blog. When I do, it's generally embarrassing. Here I go, anyway.

I'll try to keep my thoughts on this brief - I have a lot of them, but much of what I would say has already been said by others. A lot of Americans, myself included (and, I think, a lot of folks from other countries included, as well), have been following this United States election cycle very closely. The choice, as it stands, is clear - a choice between backwards white supremacy and fascism, or the most progressive platform run by any candidate ever in the history of this country.

I am #withHer, plain and simple. I have already cast my vote, having voted by absentee ballot last month. Hillary Clinton is pro-LGBTQA+, supports a reformed and nuanced approach to mental health, supports autistic people and those with other neurodivergences, supports women's rights to health care and to make their own reproductive choices, and has spent decades working across party lines to create compromise and make change.

Tonight, I felt called to action. I don't usually share my spells when they're in progress, but tonight, I would like to.

If you, like me, know how critical it is that Hillary Clinton be the next POTUS, then please, take a second to lend your thoughts to this little spell.

And if you want to do something similar for yourself, I just traced a map of the US (in blue!), and inside it, wrote "Madame President Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton, 2016-2020". I then surrounded it with several stones - Copper in the center, to conduct energy and charge the spell, Spirit Quartz to draw people together in harmony towards a cause, and then Blue Lace Agate, Sodalite, Turquoise, and Emerald to activate all those powers of communication that get people to lend their voice and say, "Today, I am going to vote".

July 17th, 2016

I've had some research on Aventurine written up for a long time now, but I apparently never typed it out. Since I've been posting about the stones I acquired while on vacation, of which a rough piece of Aventurine was one, this seems like as good a time as any to publish this.

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Aventurine

Physical Characteristics: Aventurine is most commonly found as a green, lustrous stone, although orange and brown varieties also exist.

In Nature: This stone's characteristic shine comes from the inclusion of Fuschite, a Muscovite-bearing Mica. The effect is referred to as "aventurescence". Aventurine may be confused with Sunstone or Malachite, while Goldstone, also known as Aventurine Glass, may be sold as imitation Aventurine.

Chemical Composition: K(Al, Cr)2AlSi3O10(OH)2

Mohs Scale Hardness: 7 (high)

Can be Found: Primarily India, Chile, and east of the American Rockies; also Brazil, Russia, Spain, Austria, and Tanzania

Healing Properties*: Green Aventurine is a helpful partner in psychotherapy, treating heart and lung disorders, and increasing muscle flexibility. It also improves eyesight. The stone treats skin disease, such as eczema and other rashes, and eliminates warts. It improves metabolism and the digestive system.

Magickal Properties: Aventurine is a lucky stone, especially the green variety. It brings opportunity, and is most often noted as a stone for gamblers. Additionally, Aventurine strengthens one's sense of self and helps to reinforce a positive outlook. Relieving anxiety, Aventurine soothes the emotions. It enhances a healthy sense of humor and cheerfulness, and may also draw unexpected adventure or luck in love. Aventurine provides balance and can aid in dreaming. It clears the aura, and helps one to find independence. Moreover, the stone encourages creativity, and brings success to artists.

Chakra Association: Sixth (Third Eye) and Seventh (Crown) chakras

Element: Air

Energy: Projective

Planetary Association: Mercury

*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!

July 15th, 2016

Ammolite/Opalized Ammonite

Physical Characteristics: Opalized Ammonites, known as Ammolites, are fossils wherein the animal's shell has been replaced by Aragonite, along with impurities like Calcite and Pyrite. This gives them a characteristic iridescence, usually in shades of red and green.

In Nature: Ammanoid cephalopods first appeared in the Devonian period, over 400 million years ago, going extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period. They are classified by the gas chambers in their spiral shells. After their deaths, the ammanoids fossilized into Ammonites, some of which became Ammolites.

Chemical Composition: CaCO3 with impurities

Mohs Scale Hardness: 3.5 - 5 (low to middle)

Can be Found: Most are found on the eastern slopes of the North American Rocky Mountains.

Healing Properties*: Ammolite is considered psychologically beneficial, strengthening one's will to live and offering energy and stamina. It has also been employed to ease childbirth, and to stabilize blood pressure.

Magickal Properties: Ammolite has been prized around the world as a symbol of many deities, especially those with curved horns. Pliny the Elder called them hammonis cornu, "the horns of Ammon", from the Egyptian god Amun, a ram-headed god. In one legend from the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) Nation, the Ammolite, with its form like a bison, first taught a young woman how to call the bison to be hunted. In Ethiopia, the stone was said to grant deep meditative states and prophetic dreams; today, it remains a common practice to use the spiral shape of the stone to draw one down a coiled astral path on spiritual journeys of all types, including communion with deity and past-life regression.

Ammolites and Ammonites may also be the fabled "dragonstones" or "draconites" described in some texts as protecting against poison, venomous animals, or one's enemies. In terms of sympathetic magick, the Ammolite was once home to a living creature. Therefore, it can be used in magick relating to the home, including protection, selling a house, and moving. 

The stones are protective and radiate Earth energies. As such, Ammolite is a source of grounding and of survival. Its horn shape hearkens back to the cornucopia, and so it is likewise a stone of prosperity. Ammolite can carry one into the subconscious as well as the astral - use it to transform the emotions, especially as they apply to repression, trauma, and problematic familial patterns.

Chakra Association: Particularly the First (Root) chakra, although it works with them all

Element: Akasha

Energy: Receptive

Planetary Association: Jupiter

*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!

July 13th, 2016

I've spent some time the last few days researching the stones I acquired on our June vacation, and I am pleased now to share my research. I'll probably spread posts out over the next few days, but to get things started, let's consider Snowflake Obsidian. For other posts related to this crystal, check out Obsidian and Apache Tears.

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Snowflake Obsidian

Physical Characteristics: Obsidian is a naturally-occurring volcanic glass. It is most commonly black, although other colors can also be found.

In Nature: A chemical instability in Obsidian causes the stone to crystallize gradually. It does this unevenly throughout the stone, with these areas becoming radial clusters of grey-white Cristobalite crystals. The Cristobalite resembles snowflakes, especially when tumbled.

Chemical Composition: SiO2 + MgO, Fe3O4

Mohs Scale Hardness: 5 - 5.5 (middle)

Can be Found: Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Italy, Japan, United States (e.g. Yellowstone), etc.

Healing Properties*: In the body, Snowflake Obsidian is most commonly used to manage problems with the skeleton, symptoms of mental illness, and blood circulation.

Magickal Properties: My mother's cousin gifted me my piece of rough Snowflake Obsidian, and she told me when she did that it is a stone of centering, which it is. This makes it a good anchor in chaotic situations. The stone is useful for removing negative energy from a space, and could be beneficial during shadow work or at other times when harmful thoughts and emotions need to be dealt with. Likewise, it is useful when cleansing a space because of its ability to absorb negativity. It helps to foster inner peace in the face of turmoil, and is generally protective in nature. A stone of balance, the black and white of Snowflake Obsidian represents the union of opposites.

Chakra Association: First (Root) chakra

Element: Earth

Energy: Receptive

Planetary Association: Saturn

*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!