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!

Sundays are for Basking in the Warmth

Sunday is the day of our greatest star, Sol, otherwise known as the sun, with colors of gold, orange, and radiant white. This is the time to rest and renew, indulge in creativity, and enjoy the fruits of this life. Sunday is the time to make spells for fame and fortune.

Magical Affirmations

Sundays are an ideal time for boosting your confidence and esteeming yourself.

On a Sunday morning after your ablutions, when you are your most well-rested, freshly scrubbed, shiniest self, speak these powerful words:

    I am amazing and awesome

    I grow in wisdom each day.

    I am succeeding.

    I am prospering.

    Blessings to all and blessed be me.

Feel free to create your own affirmations, if you are so inspired. This Sunday ritual feels simply divine and truly is empowering. If it works as well for you as I suspect it will, you may want to incorporate it into every Sunday morning. Blessed be!

Song of Self Ritual for Self-Expression and Introspection

This solo ritual is one that I find particularly entertaining. It requires you to look hard at yourself, but it’s also fun. Essential elements that are necessary for this ritual include:

• Big sheets of butcher paper
• Color markers, glitter, beads, shells, cloth, ribbon, yarn—whatever colorful materials you respond well to
• Sewing kit and craft boxes with random scraps, buttons, and/or shiny objects

It is good to undertake this ritual on a Sunday, but whenever you need support, reserve half an hour of quiet time and brew up some willpower to help you with your self-expression. Light a white candle anointed with peppermint oil and light spicy incense such as cinnamon. Prepare for your Song of Myself by sipping this warm drink for encouragement: Take a sprig of mint (homegrown is best), a cup of warm milk, and cinnamon sticks and stir together clockwise in a white mug. Recite:

    Herb of menthe and spicy mead,

    today is the day I will succeed.

    In every word and every deed.

    Today I sing the song of me.

Drink the brew while it is still warm and “sit for a spell.” You will know when you are ready.

Now take the paper and markers and begin your song of yourself. Write with any marker you pick up and finish this sentence at least twenty-four times: I am _______. Be as wild and free and true as you can. You are so many things. Express them here and now, once and for all. I will share some wonderful “Songs of Self” that I have seen and heard:

    I am a wild woman.

    I am beautiful.

    I am wide.

    I am a secret.

    I am sexy.

    I am brilliant.

    I am a blue sky.

    I am all possibility.

    I am a dream come to life.

    I am truth.

    I am the Goddess.

    I am the living incarnation of wisdom.

    I am life.

    I am a living blessing.

    I am the road.

    I am perfect.

    I am a tiger.

    I am yesterday and today.

    I am hope.

    I am angry.

    I am art.

    I am a crone.

    I am a sister to the sun.

    I am a poem.

    I am creative.

    I am me!

This can go on as long as you want it to. Only when you feel you have expressed every aspect of yourself should you put down your marker and begin to decorate the paper. Paint on it; glue mirror shards to it; create one or many self-portraits. Scrawl symbols on it. Write more words, allowing yourself total and absolute creative freedom. There is no wrong or right; there is only you and all your myriad aspects. Celebrate yourself and reveal yourself completely. By the end, you should have a one-of-a- kind self-portrait that tells your real story. Hang your self-song portrait in a sacred place, perhaps near your altar or shrine area. Its energy will permeate the place with your personal essence in a wonderful way.

Truth Will Set You Free: A Spell for Spiritual Healing and Growth

If you find yourself in need of help resolving a problem or uncovering new resources within yourself, try the following tried-and-true rite. Take a piece of plain white paper and a blue pen and have them at the ready.

On a Thursday, light some blue candles and chant the following affirmation:

    Fears and doubt, begone from me!

    I have the courage to break free.

    I have the wisdom to know and the strength to grow.

    I call upon my inner guide to hear and see my truth.

Repeat this four times while the candle burns. Embrace your intuition and trust it with all your heart. Now write down what comes into your mind with the blue pen. You may even feel tingling at the top of your head, which is a very good sign. Knowing the truth can sometimes be uncomfortable, but it is important as a guide for your life.

Mask-Making: Finding the Sacred Self

The elements needed for this ritual include:

• Posterboard, newspaper, water, and white flour to make a plaster-like paste, paint, glitter, feathers, sequins, colored markers, sticks
• Music—harem music, women’s opera choruses
• Butcher paper (also tape butcher paper to the wall)
• Scarves

Whatever room you’re in, create sacred space there. Light incense, lamps, and candles, and put on belly dancing or other women’s music.

Lay out the mask-making supplies on tables covered with butcher paper. Build a little cardboard wall between mask- making stations to create privacy so each participant feels completely comfortable in disclosing the heretofore hidden side of her sacred self. Before stating to make her mask, each woman should take a turn and step up to the paper on the wall, state aloud the positive qualities she sees in herself. She should proclaim her affirming, esteem-boosting aspects. This should be as free-form and upbeat as possible.

After the personal statements, other women should chime in with encouraging words. It is amazing to hear the unexpected perceptions of others, and this part of the experience can be life changing. Write everything down.

Each woman should then take her affirmations to her workstation. These words are the source of inspiration for masks of power and beauty. Next, draw a large version of the mask you envision and cut it out, making sure you have eyes, nose, and mouth holes. Mix the white flour and water into a thin glue. Take your newspaper and tear it into strips and glue it onto your mask shape. Remember to create the features for your mask face, such as a long nose, a beak; use your imagination to the fullest. After it has dried a bit, you can begin shaping the mask into a curve to fit over your face, and then glue on the decorations and adornments.

Now, turn up the women’s music, and with paint, glue, and glitter, create an expression of your inner and outer beauty on paper. Listen to the throbbing drums and the hypnotic beats; listen to your own inner rhythms. Eventually, each woman will finish one or more masks. Glue a stick to the base of each mask so that they can be held over the face like Venetian masquerade masks. As these masks dry, dance to the music. When everyone’s masks are dry, each woman should reveal her “secret” self. She can take a turn and step out into the middle of the room, wearing a veil or scarf over her mask. Before casting off the protective veil, each woman should announce her revelatory self. An example might be: I am the Fire Goddess” or “I am the Selkie of the Irish Coast.” I did a self- portrait mask of “Peacock Girl” that profoundly affected my life. Every time I see it, I feel reaffirmed.

All of the beautiful masked women should dance together to the music and raise the energy in the room. While this is taking place, the level of self-esteem in the room will skyrocket.

Our masks should be kept as totems to be worn in the event of poor self-image. Hang your mask on the wall in your bedroom or office as a constant reminder of your true and beautiful self. 

New-Moon Lover’s Spell

On the next new-moon night, take the two pieces of rose quartz and place them on the floor in the center of your bedroom. Light two red candles and use this affirming chant:

“Beautiful crystal I hold this night,
Flame with love for my delight.
Goddess of Love, I ask of you,
Guide me in the path that is true.
Harm to none as love comes to me—
This I ask and so shall it be!”

Sowing the Seeds of Change

Nature is the ultimate creator. Get an array of seed packets, and plant newness in your life. If your thumb is not the greenest, I suggest nasturtiums, which will grow in any soil and seem to thrive on neglect.

On a new-moon day, draw a square in your yard or planter with a natural wand—a willow branch or an oak stick, for example—and mark each corner with a candle and a stone:

• *  Orange candle and stone for higher intelligence (onyx or jasper),

• *  Green candle and stone for creativity and growth (jade, peridot, or malachite),

• *  Blue candle and stone for serenity and goodness (lapis lazuli, turquoise, or celestite),

• *  White candle and stone for purification (Herkimer diamond, quartz, or limestone).

Repeat this chant as you light each candle:

“Great Gaia, I turn to you to help me renew,
Under this new moon and in this old earth. Blessed be.”

Poke the seeds under the soil with your fingers and tramp them down with your wand. Gently water your new-moon garden, and affirmative change will begin that very day. 

Birthstone Secrets

Birthstones are very special stones that have traditionally been correlated with each month of the year. Hallmark didn’t invent the concept of birthstones; it came from the Bible! In Exodus chapters twenty-eight and thirty-nine, there is much discussion about a burnished and stone-set breastplate of the High Priest of the Hebrews. Here is the biblical description of the breastplate:

And he made the breastplate, artistically woven like the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. They made the breastplate square by doubling it; a span was its length and a span its width when doubled. And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row with a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald; the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold in their mountings. There were twelve stones according to the names of the sons of Israel: according to their names, engraved like a signet, each one with its own name according to the twelve tribes.

—NKJV, Exod. 39:8–14

These twelve stones from the famous breastplate became linked with the twelve signs of the zodiac, resulting in our cherished modern tradition of birthstones. The long history of birthstones has many more chapters, but an important point to know is that your birthstone is yours by divine right and birthright. I know I was thrilled when I found out amethyst was mine, even though it was ranked as semiprecious. All I knew was that it was purple, my favorite color.

Your birthstone is a major power source for you. You should have at least one piece of jewelry made from your birthstone and must treat it like the special stone it is. You should also keep this sacred personal stone around in other forms as well. I have a candleholder made of a large amethyst geode on my mantelpiece surrounded by candles. Just lighting the candle immediately calms and centers me. I realize you can’t do that with diamonds, although Herkimer diamonds can be substituted nicely. If you are a January Capricorn, for instance, and your birthstone is garnet, you can have an entire set, or parure, of garnet jewelry—ring, earrings, bracelet, necklace—for the fullest expression of birthstone power. Surround yourself with your birthstone energy and you will feel at peace, filled with well-being from your gem-fired glow.

Here is the classic list of birthstones by month.

• January: garnet, a stone symbolizing a light and loyal heart and lasting affection

• February: amethyst, a sexy and sensitive stone; Cleopatra’s royal ring

• March: aquamarine, long known as a soothsayer’s stone; and bloodstone, long known as the martyr’s stone

• April: diamond, the traditional engagement ring, which represents the power of love

• May: emerald, a lovely green stone of protection

• June: pearl, moonstone, and alexandrite—all moon and sea stones powered by water

• July: ruby, the most highly prized gem of all and a symbol of the essence of life

• August: peridot, the ancient symbol of the sun; and sardonyx, an intelligence-enhancing stone

• September: sapphire, a true-blue gem that represents the purity of the soul

• October: opal, said to contain the beauty of all other gems; and tourmaline, a stone of inspiration

• November: topaz, a stone of royalty, named for the Sanskrit word for fire

• December: turquoise, which brings luck; and zircon, the traveler’s stone

While the classic birthstones are, well, classic, each zodiac sign has “early” and “late” divisions, and each of those has heart-, soul-, and power-correlated stones. Check for your and your loved ones’ birthdays below to see which gems will rev up different areas of your lives!

Spring Seasonal Festivals

In March we see the more tangible signs of spring—grass and trees begin to green, birds return from where they have wintered, and we breathe in the warmer breezes that herald summer ahead. Be careful, however—March can be a month of surprises and changes. Celebrate spring by bringing fresh flowers into your home, and take advantage of the first fruits and vegetables in the markets. March marks the vernal (or spring) equinox, one of only two days of the year where the hours of daylight and the night are balanced equally. The vernal equinox, like its partner, the autumnal equinox, exemplifies the concept of equilibrium and the idea that two halves create a whole: only with the darkness can light be seen and appreciated.

Sacred Space for Love: Altar of Affection

To prepare for new relationships and deepen the expression of feeling and intensity to your love life, create a center from which to renew your romantic spirit. Here you can concentrate your energy, clarify your intentions and make wishes come true. If you already have an altar, incorporate some special elements, such as red candles or red crystals, or anything associated with Venus, like copper or a seashell to enhance your sex life. Your altar can sit on a low table, a big box, or any flat surface dedicated to magic. One friend of mine has her sex altar at the head or her bed. Begin by purifying the space with a sage smudge stick—a bundle of sage that you burn as your pass it through the space. Then cover your altar with a large red silk or silk-like fabric. Place two red candles at the center of your altar and place a soul mate crystal—two crystals naturally fused together—at the far right corner of the altar. These are widely available at metaphysical stores. Anoint your candles with jasmine and neroli oil. Also keep the incense you think is sexiest on your altar. Place fresh Casablanca lilies in a vase and change them the minute they begin to fade. Lilies are heralded as exotic and erotic flowers, prized for their seductive scent.

Dis-Spelling All Fear: Full Moon Rite

For overcoming panic, anxiety or your innermost fears, you can turn to your banishing block touchstone. You probably already have a crystal you turn to, but if not, allow me to recommend the rose-red marvel known as Rhodochrosite. This striking stone is also invaluable for overcoming fear and paranoia (mental unease). Rhodochrosite abets a more positive worldview. One of the simplest and best aspects of this crystal is that it will help you to sleep more peacefully, shoving apprehension, worry, and woe out of your mind so you can heal body and soul. Your dreams will be positive, too. This is a remarkable stone for affirming the self, allowing for absolute self-acceptance and self-forgiveness. Rhodochrosite brings together the spiritual plane and the material place. This crystal is important because it permits the heart to feel hurt and pain deeply, and this processing of emotions nurtures growth.

Sit on the floor, legs crossed, and breathe deeply nine times. Take the touchstone into your hands and chant:

That which came from the sky, enter into me. 
As was the moon full, so am I now.
And so I go, with this light, full and bright. 
So mote it be.

Repeat this at least six times, until you feel the energy of the stone passing into you. Now, go conquer!

Truth-Seeking Spell

If you find yourself in need of help resolving a problem or uncovering new resources within yourself, try the following tried and true rite. Take a piece of plain white paper and a blue pen and have it at the ready.

On a Thursday, light some blue candles and chant the following affirmation:

Fears and doubt, begone from me!
I have the courage to break free.
I have the wisdom to know and the strength to grow. 
I call upon my inner guide to hear and see my truth.

Repeat this four times while the candle burns. Embrace your intuition and trust it with all your heart. Now write down what comes into your mind with the blue pen. You may even feel tingling at the top of your head, which is a very good sign. Knowing the truth can sometimes be uncomfortable, but it is important as a guide for your life.