Zodiac Signs and Their Stones: Aries

Aries, First Half: March 20-April 3

Pink diamond is the soul stone of choice for early-born Aries. Aries babies are ruled by the planet Mars. The finest-quality pink diamonds usually come from Western Australia. A secondary precious-crystal stone for this part of Aries is the pink sapphire, also rare.

Sunstone is the power crystal for these Aries folks. Appropriately red with an iridescent glow, sunstone is a gold-flecked good-luck charm for the Mars-ruled. Jasper and heliotrope are the other power stones for this part of the year. These red rocks will amp up your lust for life.

The heart stones for these zodiac pioneers are dolomite, rose quartz, and cinnabar. So, Aries, put rose quartz by your bedside for self-esteem, self-love, and spiritual comfort.

Aries, Last Half: April 4-April 18

Alexandrite is the designated soul stone here. It is not as rare as pink diamond but is very precious indeed—the scarcest of the chrysoberyls. Usually a dark green, alexandrite shows red under certain types of light. This royal stone is fitting for the first sign of the zodiac. Another soul stone for later-born Aries is rhodonite, a pinkish-red crystal that’s a favorite of Carl Faberge’s. This is a bringer of great wealth.

The power stone for this half of Aries is bowenite, a stone of great strength in a mossy green. While many of the crystals assigned to late Aries are red or pink, this one is green, signifying the other side of the planet Mars. Bowenite is especially precious and sacred to the Maori of New Zealand, where some of the finest specimens come from, and was highly prized by the ancient Indians and Persians. Carnelian is second in line as a power stone and was commonly carved ceremoniously by the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Phoenicians in the pre-Christian era. Egyptians loved scarabs carved out of the umber-colored chalcedony. Explore the cavalcade of crystal stores on the Internet to find yourself a carnelian carved scarab for a personal power boost.

The heart stone for later-born Aries is the pale pink iridescent stone known as the youngite, which looks like a lighter-colored red jasper. One thousand years before Christ, the Egyptians made much jewelry out of this heart stone.

Excerpted from The Book of Abundance by Cerridwen Greenleaf found on Amazon.

INTENTIONS: USING CANDLES TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR DESTINY

As you may know well, Dear Reader, clarifying and focusing your intention is the ultimate key to success in any spellwork you perform. A clear intention is essential in order for you to channel your power and energy into attracting the outcome you desire. Beginning a ritual with a hazy or vague intent does not offer any direction for your personal power to go, and you may find you are more likely to either fail or be unsatisfied with the end results. Your intentions should be precise and attainable, and once you have mastered setting the perfect intention, your craft will be much more personal and have a more potent effect.

The following blogs will guide you through some strategies for intention setting and give you a framework to customize spells for your specific needs and desires.

Gifted and Talented: Success Accessories for Work

It is no accident that kings, queens, and emperors wore crowns. The ancients expected their leaders to be wise, and a bejeweled crown bestowed the brilliance and power of the gems to the crowned person, While you may not want to wear a tiara to the office or a crown to the grocery store, you can wear hair clips and barrettes with crystals and stones attached for some of the same reasons. Why not be smarter and smartly accessorized? Bejeweled barrettes worn at the temples confer wit and wisdom, a kind of brain-boosting power energy.

• Terrific Tiger’s Eye: Tiger’s Eye can help you filter out mental distractions and is excellent for research.
• Tops Turquoise: Turquoise is a good stone to help keep your mind and thoughts clear.
• Fabulous Fluorite: Fluorite is a true crystal of the mind and is very good for escalating mental focus.
• Brilliant Blue Scapolite: This blue crystal helps with multitasking and managing a great deal of information.
• Super Sodalite: Sodalite brings clarity, insight, and combines logic and intuition; a great combo!

Dream Crystals

Thomas Edison carried quartz crystals with him at all times and called the stones his dream crystals. He believed they inspired his ideas and inventions. Literary legends George Sand and William Butler Yeats also relied on crystals to help spark their considerable creativity.

Data has also been gathered to show the effectiveness of quartz in certain healing techniques, such as chakra therapy, acupressure, and light-ray therapy, as we will discuss in depth later. But the simplest way to promote healing with crystal is to wear a stone.

Quartz can take the form of great hexagonal stones or crystals so small that only a microscope can see them. Quartz can appear in clusters or singly. It can also appear in every hue of the rainbow. The gorgeous and varied hues of quartz come from electrostatic energy, which now can be altered through technology. I, however, prefer the simple beauty provided by Mother Nature herself.

Quartz is the largest of the crystal families, and we can be grateful for that since it is such a powerful healer. Moreover, it is an energy regulator for the human body, affecting the vibrations of the aura, or energy field that surrounds all living beings.

Tranquility Touchstones: Crystal Cairns

I am sure you will come to find this to be true: certain crystals can be touchstones in your life and bring multitudinous benefits, both emotional and spiritual. Find spots in your home or office where you can incorporate them into your every day, whether at a shrine, on your nightstand, or stacked in a corner on your desk as a sort of crystal cairn. This can be your special corner of the world where you can renew and connect with your spiritual center. Picking up and holding your touchstones can be one of the most soul-nourishing small acts of self-care you can do.

Following is a list of different crystals and what their presence will bring you:

Inspiration: Amazonite, aventurine, carnelian, chrysolite, chrysoprase, citrine, green tourmaline, malachite, yellow fluorite

Intuition: amethyst, azurite, celestite, lapis lazuli, moonstone, selenite, smoky quartz, sodalite, star sapphire, yellow calcite

Love: amethyst, magnetite, rhodochrosite, rose quartz, twinned rock crystals

Abundance: bloodstone, carnelian, citrine, dendritic agate, diamond, garnet, hawk’s-eye, moss agate, peridot, ruby, tigers-eye, topaz, yellow sapphire

Protection: amber, apache tear, chalcedony, citrine, green calcite, jade, jet, smoky quartz

Self-belief: azurite, chalcedony, chrysocolla, green tourmaline, hematite, rutilated quartz, tiger’s-eye

Serenity: amber, aventurine, blue jade, dioptase, Herkimer diamond, jasper, kunzite, moonstone, onyx, peridot, quartz, rhodonite

Confidence: carnelian, obsidian, quartz, selenite, sodalite, topaz

Positive Energy: agate, aventurine, bloodstone, calcite, chalcedony, citrine, dioptase, emerald, garnet, orange calcite, ruby, topaz

Deep wisdom: emerald, fluorite, Herkimer diamond, moldavite, serpentine, yellow calcite

5 Minute Magic: Turquoise Wish-Spell

Another charm for solvency is to take seven tiny turquoise stones in the palm of your hand and speak this wish spell aloud:

    Luck be quick,

    luck be kind,

    and, by lucky seven,

    good luck will be mine.

    Blessed be.

Place the seven small stones in your wallet or purse; more cash is on the way.

Pouch of Plenty: Crystal Charm Bags

A charm bag is a little bag or pouch filled with objects charged with magic for a specific intent. You can charge them by placing them on your altar for 24 hours or with spell work.

Gather together:

• Small muslin or cloth bags/pouch (that could fit in the palm of your hand)
• 3 pebble-sized crystals of green jade or peridot or turquoise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Bolline
• Dried basil leaves, one teaspoonful
• Green candle
• Thyme or cinnamon incense
• A length of green cord or string, a foot in length

Set the string aside and place everything else on your altar. Stand at your altar and light a green candle and thyme or cinnamon incense. Pick up the pouch and smudge it in the sweet smoke of the incense while saying the following spell:

    My life is blessed and this I know.

    Into this bag, prosperity will flow.

    I see the future is bright wherever I go,

    My life is blessed; this much I know.
    
    With harm to none; so mote it be.

Using your bolline, cut the cinnamon stick into three pieces. Cut the green cord into 3 pieces. Place the basil, pebbles, and cinnamon into the pouch. Now take the green cord, one length at a time, and tie at the end of the bag securely, wrapping it around six times and with a bow. Keep it with you in your pocket and into your life, money will flow.

Kitchen Witch Practical Magic

Any good witch knows that the best ingredients can be found in your kitchen or your own backyard. Many plants now thought of as weeds have great healing powers and magical properties. Most of the herbs and essential oils in this book have become quite commonplace. With the plethora of aromatherapy products now available, most oil essences and scented candles can be bought commercially. For the more unusual ingredients, try your local health food market, herbalist, or metaphysical store.

Investing in Gold

Pyrite, or fool’s gold, is the ideal heart stone for people who work with money, anyone who is an investor, banker, or money manager. Stunning and shiny, pyrite has a hardness of six, the number sacred to Venus. Pyrite brings great luck, along with abundance and an atmosphere conducive to joy. Delight everyone at work by keeping a chunk of fool’s gold on your desk. They will think it is a cool decoration, which it certainly is, and may never guess you have it there to ensure business is good with stable income.

Lodestones

Stones, crystals, and gems are regarded as the purest form of the earth’s abundance. Whenever you get a new piece of jewelry with a stone or gem, or if you decorate your home or garden with rocks and pebbles, show gratitude for this gift from nature. Sprinkle thyme, marigold blossoms, and ground cinnamon on your garden path and your front doorstep. Also, burn this mix in your incense holder on your alter and chant:

Mother Nature, I thank you for the strength and bounty of your bones and stones. Your beauty is reflected now and forever.

Blessed be.

Crystal Magic and How It Works

Crystal magic also involves color magic and spell craft, topics that are covered in depth herein. With crystal magic, you will learn to improve your life in ways large and small. You will discover the stones that are special to you and how to fully utilize these birthstones and karmic crystals. You will undertake the magical arts of crystal conjuring and spell casting with stones. You will be inducted into the practice of healing with crystals and learn how to achieve wellness every day. Finally, you will have at your fingertips the history, description, and instructions on how to use each and every gem and crystal.

Using gems and crystals in rituals, spells, and affirmations has been part of the human experience for millennia. By incorporating this practice into your life, you will create a flow of positive energy that will enable you to enhance your work, your family, your love, and every other part of your existence.

Yes, through the magic of gems, anything is possible. Again, welcome to this glittering and magical realm, and begin a special journey under a sky where every star is a jewel you can wish upon!

Blessing Bag: Herbal Good Luck Charm

Many plants have abundant inherent magic that creates abundance, good fortune, and great good luck. Harvest these herbs and you will hardness the blessings growing in your own back yard.

Gather these supplies:

• Small muslin pouch that ties
• Teaspoon of basil
• Teaspoon of pine needles
• Teaspoon of nutmeg
• Teaspoon of rosemary
• Fennel seed pod
• 1 vanilla bean pod
• 3 cinnamon sticks broken into pieces

Take the pouch and stuff it with the herbs. Add the fennel seed and vanilla bean and, lastly, the cinnamon sticks. Tie up the bag, hold it in both hands, and speak the following spell:

    I hold in my hands these herbs of providence.

    I hold in my heart, these herbs of destiny.

    Blessings to all for the good of all.

    And so it is. So mote it be.

Tie the bag to the back door of your home or wherever is closest to your plantings. Every time the door opens or closes, the little bag will deliver more good luck.

Herbalist’s Astrological Almanac – Plant Healing Wisdom

Plants carry potent energy you can use to amplify your magical workings. Use the signs of the sun, moon, and stars to your advantage, and, over time, you will come to know which ones are most effective for you. Make sure to use your own astrological chart in working with these herbs. Here is a guide to the astrological associations of plants you may grow in your kitchen garden or keep dried in your pantry:

• Aries, ruled by Mars: carnation, cedar, clove, cumin, fennel, juniper, peppermint, and pine.
• Taurus, ruled by Venus: apple, daisy, lilac, magnolia, oak moss, orchid, plumeria, rose, thyme, tonka bean, vanilla, and violet.
• Gemini, ruled by Mercury: almond, bergamot, mint, clover, dill, lavender, lemongrass, lily, and parsley
• Cancer, ruled by the Moon: eucalyptus, gardenia, jasmine, lemon, lotus, rose, myrrh, and sandalwood
• Leo, ruled by the Sun: acacia, cinnamon, heliotrope, nutmeg, orange, and rosemary
• Virgo, ruled by Mercury: almond, cypress, bergamot, mint, mace, moss, thyme, and patchouli
• Libra, ruled by Venus: catnip, marjoram, mugwort, spearmint, sweet pea, thyme, and vanilla
• Scorpio, ruled by Pluto: allspice, basil, cumin, galangal, and ginger
• Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter: anise, cedar wood, sassafras, star anise, and honeysuckle
• Capricorn, ruled by Saturn: lemon thyme, mimosa, vervain, and vetiver
• Aquarius, ruled by Uranus: gum, citron, cypress, lavender, spearmint, and pine
• Pisces, ruled by Neptune: clover, orris, neroli, sarsaparilla, and sweet pe

Love and Money Jam

July is one of the sweetest times to enjoy your garden and strawberries are a harbinger of the good summertimes ahead. To make this lucky jam, get the following ingredients:

• 5 cups of strawberries
• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
• 1-3/4 ounces) powdered fruit pectin
• 7 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 9 clean and sterilized 1-pint canning jars

Macerate the strawberries in a big bowl. In a large pot, melt the butter and pour in the crushed strawberries. Fold in the powdered pectin. Heat the mixture to a full boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add in the sugar and bring again to a full rolling boil. Boil and stir for 1 more minute. Now, add in the chopped basil.

Remove the pot from heat and skim off any foam. Ladle the hot mixture into nine half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-inch at the top. Look for and remove any air bubbles. If you need to fill in, add in more hot jam mixture. Carefully wipe the jar rims, then seal the lids on the jars. Place jars into a canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool. Strawberries are widely regarded as an aphrodisiac and basil brings money to your house. Making this “Love and Money Jam” will be a great gift to everyone in your household and anyone who is served this jolliest of jams.

Go Forth and Be Fruitful!

Apple

This “one a day” beloved fruit is associated with the goddess Pomona and contains the powers of healing, love, and abundance. Samhain, the high holiday of the Wheel of the Year, is also called the "Feast of Apples" and is used on the Halloween altar during this festival. Cutting an apple in half and sharing the other with your beloved ensures the two of you will stay happy.

Banana

A bunch of bananas packs a magical punch with powers of abundance and fertility for both men and women. Anyone who gets married beneath a banana tree bower will have a lucky marriage. One caveat: never cut a banana, only break it apart. Otherwise, you’ll bring back luck to your household.

Blackberry

Blackberries are the medicine that pops up anywhere, offering a delightful snack and serious healing, love, and abundance. Both the vine and the berries can be used for money-bringing spells. Thorny blackberry vines are wonderful as protective wreaths for your home, and the plant vine and berry can be used for prosperity and money spells.

Grapes

Planting grapevines grants you abilities for money magic as well as gardening and farming. The ancient Romans painted pictures of grapes on the garden walls to ensure good harvest and fertility for women. For mental focus, eat some grapes, while magical spell workings for money are abetted greatly by placing a bowl of grapes on the altar.

Pear

It is believed this uniquely shaped fruit brings prosperity and a long life. Somewhat similarly to peaches, the pear creates powers of lust and love. Sharing with a partner, pears can be used to induce sexual arousal. Pear wood is also very good for magical wands.

Pineapple

While renowned as the symbol of hospitality, pineapple represents neighborliness, abundance, and chastity. Dried pineapple in a sachet added to bath water will bring great luck. The juice hinders lust when drunken; dried peel is great in money spells and mixtures.

Tomato

A reminder that the tomato is a fruit! An easy money spell is to place a fresh-off-the-vine tomato on the mantle every few days to bring prosperity. Eating tomatoes inspires love and they’re great to grow in your garden as an aid to ward off pests of all kinds!

The Wealth of Wildflowers

Pagans revere poppies for their money magic. If you have a yard, nearby meadow, or any strip of ground you can garden, buy poppy seeds and simply toss half of them all around in early spring. Soon, you will have a wealth of wildflowers. No doubt, you will be rewarded for years to come with the beauty and abundance of poppies for many years to come.

Gather together:

• One small plain paper envelope
• Remaining poppy seeds
• A pen

Place the rest of the poppy seeds in the envelope. Bless the envelope by chanting aloud:

    Poppy, gold like the sun,
    
    Thank you for the new fortune I’ve won.

    With these words, this spell is sealed. And so it is.

Now write the charm you have spoken on the envelope. Seal the envelope closed and place it in your wallet, behind your paper money. Your fortunes will begin to change as soon as the envelope is sealed.

Dandelion Root: Luck in the Moonlight

Grind this dried root and sleep; drink in direct moonlight.

The humble dandelion, abhorred by lawnkeepers, hides its might well. Dandelion root tea can call upon the spirit of anyone whose advice you might need. Simply place the brew on your nightstand and say the spirit's name seven times; he or she will visit your dreams and answer your questions. In Chaucer’s day, this method was used to find lost treasures.

Luck be quick, luck be kind, and, by lucky seven, good luck will be mine. Blessed be

Sowing Seeds of Positive Change In Your Life

Nature is the ultimate creator. At a nearby gardening store or hardware store, get an assortment of seed packets to plant newness into your life. If your thumb is not the greenest, try nasturtiums which are extremely hardy, grow quickly, and spread, beautifying any area. They re-seed themselves, which is a lovely bonus. Light the following candles:

• Green candle and peridot or jade for creativity, prosperity, and growth
• Orange candle and jasper or onyx for clear thinking and highest consciousness
• Blue candle and turquoise or celestine for serenity, kindness, and a happy heart
• White candle and quartz or limestone for purification and safety

Put the seeds under the soil with your fingers and tamp them down gently with your wand, the branch, which you should also stick in the ground at this time. Water your new moon garden and affirmative change will begin in your life that very day.

Daisy and Echinacea: Healing the Heart and Body

Photo by Getty Images

This faithful flower’s name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon daeges eage, “day’s eye” since it closes in the evening. The daisy has been used in one of the oldest love charms. To know if your true love is returned, take a daisy and intone “He loves me, he loves me not” until the last petal is plucked and the answer will be revealed. This flower is not just a boon for romance, however. It is also useful in herbal medicine for aches, bruises, wounds, inflammation, and soothing eye baths. As a flower remedy, it is quite good to help with exhaustion and is a highly regarded remedy in homeopathy. Echinacea is a member of the daisy family that has become wildly popular as a healer for colds and as a powerful immune booster, increasing your T-cell count and fighting off illnesses both minor and major. Echinacea is an herb of abundance, attracting more prosperity, but it can be used in magic workings to amplify the power.

Basil Bliss

This sweet-tasting herb is excellent in savory dishes. Basil truly grows like a weed and you should cultivate it right on the kitchen windowsill so you can snip and add to your Italian-inspired dishes. Give your basil plants plenty of sun and lots of water, and you will reap a mighty bounty to share with the neighbors. Old wives and hedge witches claim basil protects your home while it brings prosperity and happiness to any gardener’s home. Basil helps steady the mind, brings happiness, love, peace, and money, and protects against insanity (what more can you want?). The benefits of this plant are as plentiful as the plant itself; it can be used in getting and attracting love, and on the highest vibrational level, abetting psychic abilities or even astral projection.