New Stones and Grid

I bought a few stones while we were on vacation, and I was also gifted a few. I saw lots of really neat ones, but I'm happy with what I restricted myself to.

These are the two I bought, actually from the rock shop in Wall Drugstore. Above is an opalized Ammonite fossil, and below is a piece of South Dakota Bubblegum Agate. The Ammonite was a little expensive, but I've never had any Opal before, so I was okay with that.

These two were gifted to me by a cousin of my mom's, who is an avid crystal collector. The top one is a chunk of rough Aventurine, and the bottom is a chunk of rough Snowflake Obsidian.

Then somewhat out of the blue, I got a message from a friend of mine (whose name and pseudonym I will leave out of this particular story) who was having some trouble with a malevolent entity in her household. I was out of the house at the time, but when I got back, I put together this crystal grid to help deal with the issue.

The crystals are all situated on a circular rug which gives the grid a clear boundary. In the center, my Generator Quartz is sitting on its box to tie together the energies of the other stones and send them out. Around it is a blue circle my friend crocheted a while back to act as a taglock, and then I have two more Quartz points facing the Generator for extra power. On either side are some olive leaves to bring in the power of Athena, and I also added the bird skull I found at Mabon because I felt drawn to include it.

In a ring around that, I alternated Tiger's Eye (and a Fluorite, because I only had three Tiger's Eye) with Smoky Quartz, Ametrine (I couldn't find my Citrine last night, although it has since turned up), Red Jasper, and Rose Quartz, and in the final outer ring are all the protective stones: Snowflake Obsidian, Black Tourmaline, Obsidian, Onyx, Apache Tear, and enough Tektites to bring the total stone count in that ring up to 12.

I was really happy with how it came out, and it seemed to do its job, which was to send protection and energy to my friend, who was really drained by the whole ordeal. 

Today, things have gotten largely back on track, so I took it down as it was a little obvious in the middle of my floor. I cleansed each of the stones before I put them away; I don't know that they would have picked up a lot of negativity all the way over here, but it seemed like a good practice, anyway.

June 25th, 2015

It's been an exciting afternoon! My grandparents took us over to a nearby park for an afternoon of bocce ball and card games. While we were there, Nick and I climbed down a steep trail to a creek running back through the trees. He went off and explored, but I stayed near the stream bed, looking for rocks. I found a whole bunch of neat ones!

There was plenty of Quartz, of course. Making up about 12% of the earth's crust, it's an extremely abundant mineral. I've identified them as follows:

• Far left: Medium grain Quartz crystals mixed with pink Feldspar; probably some type of granite
• Left: A sedimentary rock of some kind (some sort of Jasper, I think) with Quartz growing out the top of it.
• Top right: A massive (as in, rock-like rather than crystal-point, not as in "huge") chunk of Quartz
• Bottom right: A smaller, more translucent piece of massive Quartz
• Far right: Quartzite pebble

I was also excited to find some pieces of what look to me like Unakite. Unakite is the combination of green Epidote with pink Feldspar. The distribution of the two wasn't the most balanced across all the pieces I found. In particular, I think the bottom left is Epidote and Quartz, while the bottom right looks like Epidote and Slate.

And then I found some miscellaneous stones.

• Top left: Granite; when I picked this one up, there were some neat blue flecks in it which were really pretty.
• Bottom left: Not sure yet what this is; it's probably sedimentary, although it has more rings than it seems to layers. I don't think it's an Agate, though.
• Middle: Fossils! I thought maybe it was just some rock conglomerate when I picked it up, but then I was looking at it more closely, and it does appear to have at least some fossilized bones in it.
• Top right: Red Jasper? It looked more like some when it was wet. I don't know how I could find out for sure, since I don't have the equipment for a streak test, or really to test hardness, either.
• Bottom right: This is probably more pink Feldspar, but it looked a bit like Rhodochrosite, which I know occurs in neighboring states, so I figured I'd keep it just in case.

Ultimately, I'm very much an amateur where identifying my own stones goes, so if you see anything you recognize, by all means, let me know!

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!

November 17th, 2013

Wow, it's been a month since I posted last. Yikes! I have an excuse, I swear, and hope everyone had a great Samhain - I know I did. My school's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream opened on the 6th, and between that and school and work obligations, it's been a little crazy. Here, have a picture:

That's me on the right, playing Puck. (Guess who made the trees, too, among other things.)
When I heard we were doing Midsummer, I first thought "I'm going to have to petition the fairies on this one, aren't I?". I did, and I guess they liked me, because the whole production came off really well even though the rehearsal process was beyond trying sometimes. I also blessed the stage with holy water and kept a pouch of stones with me, all associated with strength in speaking and acting and appropriately charged.
I was excited to learn that a couple of my castmates, all new this year, are Pagan or similarly interested, so I was able to have some good discussions about my beliefs. I love being around people I can connect with, and my theatre friends are that on a multitude of levels.

August 14th, 2012

It's a beautiful day at grandma's house! I'm seated on their porch as I write this, enjoying the smell of fresh-cut grass, and keeping an eye out for the Hummingbirds who visit my grandma's feeder. We went for another walk today along a shadier path next to the creek and saw a very silly squirrel loudly chewing on a nut.
Having caught a bit of a respite, I finally have time to add information on a new stone, Red Jasper.

 ~~~~~~~~~~

 Red Jasper

Physical Characteristics: Red Jasper is, as one might expect, a scarlet red. It is typically striated with brown and/or dark red stripes. Jasper comes in many other colors, and that affects their uses, so the following may not be true of all Jaspers.

In Nature: Jasper is a form of chalcedony, like Bloodstone. It is opaque and colored due to iron oxide in the stone.

Chemical Composition: SiO2 (Silicon Dioxide)

Mohs Scale Hardness: 7 (middle-high)

Can be Found: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, India, Kazakstan, Madagascar, Russia, Uruguay, and the USA.

Healing Properties*: Therapeutically, Red Jasper stimulates sexuality and fertility. It is beneficial in treating the liver, spleen, and pancreas. Drinking Jasper water before every meal promotes weight loss. On the other hand, the stone helps battle anorexia and bulimia, as well other stomach disorders. Jasper water is further beneficial in easing constipation.

Magickal Properties: As a decorative stone, Jasper combats exhaustion. It aligns the chakras, balancing yin and yang energies, and may be used to bring rain. In the past, Jasper warded off snake and spider bite. Although not a great concern today, these ancient associations imply that Jasper can protect against modern dangers, from car crashes to harassment. Jasper promotes mental processes and restrains dangerous whims. Worn by young women, it promotes beauty and grace. This is another lucky stone for actors, and it gives one the courage to speak out. It is a stone of stability and strength. Red Jasper enhances dream recall and dream work, and assists in unjust situations.

Chakra Association: Red Jasper aligns all the chakras, but is especially helpful to the First, or Root Chakra, and the Second, or Sacral Chakra.

Element: Fire

Energy: Projective

Planetary Association: 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!