An introduction to crystals

By Phoenix Tzu


Aquamarine is a stone of the Element of water. It’s name comes from the Latin meaning , “ water of the sea” and it is a good one as it describes the colour and feel of the crystals. Some are clear, transparent blue, luminous; while others are a sparkling sea-foam blue and others still are greenish-blue in colour. Aquamarine is a powerful stone in a magickal sense as it can really help males to express their feelings and removes emotional numbness. Aquamarine can calm you down when you are frustrated, and helps in keeping your temper under control, even when you have been provoked ; having the effect of allowing one to more easily keep one’s emotions in balance.

This little stone is the stone of communication, and activates the throat chakra.
As with many other crystals, Aquamarine can help with physical ailments as well as the metaphysical. Use it to quiet the nervous system, and to sort out any infections of the throat such as laryngitis. On an emotional level, it calms everything down, helping one to release unnecessary and harmful emotions or feelings.
Aquamarine is a stone which has a deeply clearing and cleaning energy.

The Source of Life energies, The Goddess, can be reached very easily by using this crystal as a gateway. It connects directly with the Divine Feminine.
Aquamarine was also known as Smaragdos in ancient times and is the dwelling-place of the Queen of Zemargad, also known as Na’amah, the sister, or manifestation of, Lilith.

Hematite is of the element of earth. This stone is used on the root chakra to ground oneself in the body. The name Hematite derives from the Greek word for blood.
The most common form of Hematite is magnetized hematite which is usually sold in polished bead form. Holding a pair of Hematite magnets or stones has the effect of balancing out the magnetic field of your body.
For those who are drained of energy for some or other reason, these magnets will protect the energy field of the body. Try placing the stones on the front and back of each chakra to re-align and clear the energy in the chakras and bring back balance to the energy body.
If you find that after taking in high-frequency energy (such as when working with crystals like moldavite), that sometimes you have headaches, pains or are feeling unbalanced, the magnets will restore and regulate the body’s magnetic field.

Hematite magnets also help in stimulating healing minor injuries such as sprains , muscle tears and will stop the flow of blood when held on or near a wound.
To wake up the entire nervous system and literally jump-start your chakras, place magnets on all of the main chakra points for a while while lying flat on the ground and after relaxing the body completely using deep rhythmic breathing .
This stone is very good for cultivating, balancing and re-energizing the energy field and as a magnet, also has the helpful feature of being able to help in drawing energies and whatever else one may desire – prosperity, health, success and whatever else is good for one as an individual, into one’s own energy body.

Bloodstone

Another name for Bloodstone is Heliotrope, meaning “ Sun-turner”. This stone is a true gem of Magick , having the power to remove all unwanted influences or attachments in one’s auric field. It oozes with well-being and purifies the energy field steadily if it is carried around with you.

When obstacles come in your way, Bloodstone will help you to make the right decision and clear your mind’s eye to the truth. When that feeling of discouragement pops up, and we get that wavering in our chosen path, this stone will help to set us right again very quickly. We Pagans often feel abandoned, alienated or lonely because of the spiritual path we have chosen.Try meditating with even a small, polished stone for a while or even just holding the gem and it is truly wonderful to feel the vibes of the spiritual warrior returning. The feelings of loneliness are just an illusion, as SomeOne will tell you as you connect to the Divine and we are reminded that we are never really alone.

Bloodstone also has some incredible healing and regulating properties. Women will find that the gem will balance out the hormone imbalances that happen during menopause and is useful for all sorts of other blood disorders. It works at the very source of the blood production centre of the body, ie. the bone marrow, and helps in cases of anaemia and strengthens the blood. If you exercise regularly you will find that bloodstone helps with endurance during the run , walk or dance and with recovery after a session.
Use Bloodstone for the Root Chakra as it is an Earth element stone.


Carnelian

Carnelian has been prized for centuries, as without the vitality of physical energies, one cannot enjoy life in many ways.
This is a stone of vitality, confidence, sexuality and leadership – carrying or wearing carnelian will lend fire to one’s actions in every way.
Carnelian varies in color from dark red to reddish-orange and shades of orange.
Ereshkigal, the Sumerian Goddess of the Underworld (Summerlands) sat on a carnelian throne; and ancients used Carnelian before battle, for courage. If one has a problem with public speaking, or gets that terrible knot in the stomach before making a speech or presentation, working with carnelian will lend courage and help to maintain control of those butterflies, so that one can use this nervous energy positively instead.

When we neglect the physical , the result is that we neglect the temple within which our soul lives. Overall energy levels drop and one becomes more vulnerable to injuries, especially when the years add up, if there is not a healthy, strong and resilient shell to carry one through. Carnelian also helps in detoxifying the system.

Carnelian boosts the flow of vital life force in the body and is used on the Root chakra, the Sexual chakra, and the Solar plexus chakra, filling one’s etheric and physical bodies with vigour and lust for those things that help to create the life we love.
Carnelian is of the Element of Fire, and we who love sex and wish to enhance the body’s desire on the path to Divine ecstasy, can be assured of Carnelian to help and assist the flow of energies. Enjoy!


Please excuse this if you are already experienced in working with crystals, but for those just beginning this incredible journey I would offer these guidelines :

Crystals are not just any old rocks, but should be respected as any other sentient being should be, especially those with metaphysical powers. Crystals are Devas in their own right and their powers and what they can do must not be underestimated.
When first buying a crystal, let your intuition guide you and go with your instincts. Don’t choose a crystal because of it’s looks alone but rather on how it feels to you. Often it is a great help to take a pendulum along with you to the crystal shop in order to find the right crystal more easily.
Clean the crystal in clean, cool running water and/or a purifying incense such as Cannabis or Sage as soon as you return home and your new ally is ready to get to know you! It is a good idea to clean the gems after each time they are used, for healing especially. Incense is very good – so is a candle flame, but don’t burn yourself or your crystals while doing it.

Carry the stones in a velvet bag or similar soft type material with a drawstring to prevent damage when around and about.If the first couple of stones soon turn into a big collection, which has a funny way of happening, try arranging them in a spiral shape or in various special places around the house, just don’t put them away in a drawer or worse, jumble them up together in a pot or overcrowd them. Crystals have unique energy signatures and just as you can’t plant a cabbage near a Boston Ivy vine, so a water element stone shouldn’t be kept together with a fire element stone for long periods of time.

If a supercomputer can operate with a couple of chip-sized crystals, just imagine how much potential a lump-sized clear quartz crystal has. Crystals can be programmed, and transfer, store and transmit energy both ways and for this reason are often to be found on the handle and tip of Witches’ wands. So don’t point the tip of a crystal wand at someone unless you are really sure of your intent, because crystals concentrate and focus energy very effectively . Keep crystal wands pointing away from computers or disks.
The energy of your every thought, word or deed , cemented with willpower, works magick but if you add crystal clarity and focus to your actions, results are guaranteed. As with all forms of magick, the laws of cause and effect apply but with crystals one has to be even more sure of the possible effects the magick will have on the subject - crystals really work - and as a guide, practice the Harm none rule.

Accredited sources :
“Crystals for beginners – A guide to collecting & using Stones and Crystals” By Corinne Kenner. Llewellyn Publications, Woodbury, Minnesota

“The Book of Stones – Who they are & what they teach” By Robert Simmons and Naisha Ahsian with contributions by Hazel Raven. Heaven and Earth Publishing LLC, East Montpelier, Vermont

Addicts and me!

Today’s blog entry is based on an area of my life that has affected me emotionally and spiritually over the years and for those who have experienced anything similar will know how exhausting and painful going through these moments can be.

It is a hard circumstance to face, and can affect you for along time. My cat, Jinx, truly was the first step in helping me to recover. He helped me to learn the meaning of unconditional love, not just for others but for myself.

The next step from there was to learn forgiveness. It is not easy to forgive when somebody has really hurt you. Just thinking of trying to forgive someone who has hurt you brings up all the memories of the pain they caused. What I did was learn to forgive myself.


Addicts

To help you understand how I overcame my emotional struggle with an addict, I need to give you a bit of background.

A had a good friend that I’d known since I was thirteen years old, we went to high school together, we went through our crazy, party all night late teens and early twenties together and in our mid twenties we even lived together for a while. And now I have cut her out of my life completely!

Through the years she only ever contacted me for three seasons. For money, drugs or compassion! Not only had she become badly addicted to drugs (and even became a dealer) but she was addicted to taking other people’s compassionate energy. How did she do it?

(This is still quite tough for me, I’m even shaking quite badly as a write.)

I might not hear from her for months and then one day she would phone me up out of the blue in tears over something terrible that had happened, and like a knight in shining armour I’d go to her rescue, comfort her and help her out of her situation. Her big blue, tear filled eyes would get me every time. When all was well in her world again she would stab me in the back or not contact me again for months on end, and yet for some reason the next time something happened I’d be there for her. Over and over again for almost 12 years she did this to me. Draining my energy, using my emotions for her own good and hurting me. She was abusing my compassion without a doubt.

Eventually I cut her out of my life completely, I am only sorry it took so long. And now when I look back I realise that almost everything she ever told me was a lie so that she could use me emotionally, and I fell for it. I can’t change her, I can’t get her to be a better person and I will admit for some things I just can’t forgive her.

Me

So what did I do? I learnt to forgive myself. I forgave myself for putting me in situations where she could hurt me over and over again. I was angry because I had let her hurt me over and over again, so the change had to happen with me. I realised that there is absolutely no way I can help her or make her change and that is completely up to her, it’s her freewill!

So she wouldn’t “suck” my energy from me I stayed as far away from her as possible, it sounds horrible but I know if I don’t block myself off from her she will probably be able to get to me again. Finally because I know she has dipped her toes in dark magick I used the following protection spell from Cassandra Carter’s book “Every day magic”. I started using it many years ago when a childhood friend of mine turned to dark magic, and eventually Satanism. It has helped to protect me through a lot!

Although the spell is focused on protecting the person I have often expanded it to protect my room and even my house. (I also have shadow dragons around the house for extra protection).

This is the use of the archangels, Raphael, Michael, Gabriel and Uriel, if you are not sure about using angels feel free to replace there names with “The spirit of the element of earth/air/fire/water”. Visualise this protective barrier around yourself or your home.

Saint Patrick’s breastplate

Face east and say:
“Before me Raphael” Visualise a bright yellow pentagram flaming in the East.
“Behind me Gabriel” Visualise a vibrant blue pentagram flaming in the West.
“To my right hand, Uriel” Visualise a deep green pentagram flaming in the South.
“To my left hand, Michael” Visualise a bright red pentagram flaming in the North.

This ward has not only worked powerfully in protecting me and my family over the years, but it has always made me feel comforted, safe and peaceful.

So can I help whoever has hurt me?

This is a very tough question. We always want to help those we see who are suffering and have lost their path. We want to reach out and make the world a better place, it is our human nature. The answer to this question is a simple but a hard pill to swallow. NO! We cannot change or help the other person that is only something they can do for themselves.

You might want to be there to offer them love and support until they come out the other end of their problems, I used to think like this until I realised they will use this against you. It is hard but sometimes you just have to walk away.

When it comes to being an addict and working with dark magick those involved can come clean and sort their lives out, I have seen it happen, the hard truth is that it doesn’t always happen.

If you do decide to step away from anyone that has hurt you there is a parting gift you can give them. I call it the break-away crystal.

I set up my sacred space and in the centre I have a quartz crystal, pen & paper and my cauldron. On the piece of paper I write I wish. Usually something along the lines of “I wish (name) will leave me alone and that they find true happiness and goodness in their lives. May all their dreams come true.” Write it from your heart. You know best what the goodness of this person means to you.

Then I burn the wish in the cauldron while visualising the wish coming true.

I don’t believe in getting rid of negative energy. It’s bad for karma because you are sending it away from you and out into the world. What I do believe is that as science has shown us energy does not go away it just changes into something else and that is what you will be using the crystal for.

Once the wish has been burnt, pick up the crystal and bless it as you normally would to clear it of previous energies. I chose a quartz as it is one of the strongest conductors available to us.

When charging the crystal, imagine it glowing with a bright white light. Imagine it absorbing negative energy from the person you are going to give it to and releasing pure positive energy. When you have done that say the following:

“Let goodness endure
With love that is pure
To the freewill of all
By the power of three
May it hurt none
So mote it be”

Clear your sacred space as you would and take the ashes from your wish and throw them into the air for the wind to carry away and the next time you see the person who has hurt you give them the crystal gift, with a smile. Wish them only happiness and love.

No matter how horrible and painful my past experiences have been I am grateful for them because they have made me into the person I am today. I hope my experiences are also able to help anyone out there who finds them in a similar position.

Bright blessings from the bottom of my heart!
Creature Beulah

Today I danced!

First I danced with gratitude. There are many out there who cannot dance and there are many out there who have less than me and who are in worse situations than me. I danced for everything that I have and for all the amazing people in my life and for all the amazing experiences I have shared.

I was grateful for the things I had but didn’t want as they came into my life for a reason. I danced in gratitude for the bad experiences that have shaped my life because without them I would not be the person I am today.

I danced for love because that is how friends and family truly support me through the good and bad times. I danced for my inner strength as this is what will keep me going until I look back and see I made mountains out of molehills.

I danced in unity with the universe, the source of all things and a powerful source of energy for all that is in the present and the future.

I danced until I smiled and I shared my smile with those around me so that their hearts could also dance even though times seem hard. A smile can lift our spirits and help us find the inner strength and joy we may have forgotten was there all along.

What is stopping you from dancing & smiling? Give it a try and you may be surprised by the results you will achieve!