Dioptase—Beauty and Balance

Dioptase is a vitality stone that cleanses all the chakras, giving vigor to the mind, body, and spirit. This beautiful emeralds green mineral is usually found as crystals massed together in Iran, Namibia, Peru, Chile, Madagascar, Russia, and South Africa. While it is fairly unknown, it is one of the best healing stones of our time, emanating very calming energy. People have also been experimenting with it for pain relief and lowering high blood pressure. The latest discovery about dioptase is that it can be useful for cellular disorders and immune problems; it is said to activate the production of T cells. It also gives respite to those with Ménière’s disease. Dioptase is one of those very rare stones that both calms and energies at the same time, making energy dense, soothing mental stress, and alleviating migraines. A wonderful aspect of dioptase is that this stone triggers past-life recollection and also enables people to live in the present moment— two opposite and extremely positive occurrences. But my favorite aspect of dioptase is that it helps with matters of love. The stone heals a broken heart and opens it to higher love.

Blue Lace Agate—Earth Stone

Ever since the famous photograph was taken from Apollo 8 in 1968 of Earth juxtaposed with the Moon, blue lace agate has gained an unprecedented popularity for its resemblance to Earth as seen from space. This stone is relatively new, discovered just forty years ago. Most agates are common, but the blue stones are rarer. Formed from liquefied silica and crocidolite, this stone gets its lace pattern from fractures and layers caused by centuries of heating and cooling. there is one great source for this pale blue treasure in Angus, Scotland, and it occurs rarely in North America.

This cool blue stone is a calming agent and can be used in meditation to achieve higher consciousness. It is believed to be able to open the third eye and therefore promote greater spirituality and attunement of the crown chakra as well as the throat and heart. It can also assist in disorders of the pancreas, capillaries, and nerves. In powdered form, in an elixir, it can help with bones, too, and can be worn to heal fractures and breaks more quickly and relieve symptoms of arthritis.

Morganite

Named after J.P. Morgan, one of the richest American men of his time, this is really a pink beryl and occurs in Brazil, Russia, and North America. It deserves its own mention since it is a crystal with powerful love energy. Morganite is also wonderfully beneficial to the nerves and is a calming crystal. But the greatest gift this gem can give you is to bring love into your life and keep it there.

Amethyst

Amethyst is a purple quartz found most commonly in Brazil, Canada, and East Africa. The color can range from light violet to deep purple or can be nearly colorless. Amethyst has been prized for jewelry for hundreds of years, and before a huge cache was discovered in South America, it was valued as a precious gemstone. It is now classified as semiprecious.

It is one of the stones most esteemed by healers. The legendary American psychic Edgar Cayce recommended it for control and temperance. Amethyst is believed to aid in the production of hormones and regulate the circulatory, immune, and metabolic systems. Amethyst is treasured for its centering and calming properties and seems to connect directly to the mind, fighting emotional swings and depression. Aquarians and Pisceans can count it as their birthstone, and this might be a very good thing because the Fishes frequently struggles with substance-abuse issues, and amethyst can conquer drinking and other sensory indulgences, such as out-of-control sexuality. Amethyst also helps with metal focus, intuition, meditation, and memory.

In early Renaissance, amethyst was held to have the power to prevent evil, at least evil thoughts, and to offer protection in time of war. The lovely purple gem continues to reign as one of the most popular of all stones. Little wonder, since it is such an aid to our physical and emotional health.

Ankle Bracelets and Toe Rings

Bejeweled feet and ankles are very sexy. Jewelry in this area of the body is also grounding and stabilizing. If you are dealing with anxiety or substance-abuse issues, wear amethyst around your ankle. If you’re feeling drained of energy, jasper or rock crystal will come in handy. Rhodonite will do the trick if you are feeling disconnected or restless.

Pearls for Patience

In this fast-paced world, we are so accustomed to instant gratification—high- speed internet connection, same-day delivery. We are multitasking ourselves to death. Slow down and enjoy your life. It is worth it, I assure you. Here is a quick way to simply relax and enjoy the little things of life: Wear a pearl. Pearl earrings and necklaces are the best, as they calm and clear the mind.

Seven Sacred Stones Bracelet

Take any silver chain-link bracelet and add “charm” to it! Bracelets act as protection jewelry, and, well, they look simply divine on our delicate wrists, do they not? Of late, the trend has been to layer bracelets, but, with gem magic, there’s a danger that jeweled pieces worn together could cancel each other out because they have conflicting energies. So, I’m going to recommend that you wear this bracelet alone, without other magical wrist wear.

To make this piece, you’ll need seven stones on small pendent settings, a silver chain-link bracelet, seven jump rings, and pliers. Plain silver chain-link bracelets are easy to obtain at any jewelry department or store, from Target to Tiffany. Jump rings are open rings onto which you can slide a pendant and then close up with small chain- nose pliers. They are readily available at any craft or jewelry store.

Before you choose your seven stones, decide what energy enhancement you desire. If you want lots of energy and zest, choose red jasper or pink clamshell. If you want to be uplifted, try jade. To become wiser, pick sapphire. To stay safe while traveling, pick dendritic agate. To remain calm and overcome stress, choose blue lace agate. For more mental clarity, choose malachite. For a self-esteem boost, try rhodonite.

Once you have pursued all the gem and crystal descriptions in this book, you can and should experiment with all manner of combinations. However, I highly recommend the Seven Sacred Stones Bracelet with the following very beneficial stones and energies:

• Citrine for a better ability to communicate

• Lace agate for happiness with your job

• Lapis lazuli for mental brilliance

• Moonstone for self-love and self-expression

• Red coral for good health and physical strength

• Rose quartz or opal to make you appealing to others 

• Turquoise for calmness and protection from the earth

Friends of mine have reported wonderful results with this banishing and boosting bracelet. Where else can you find jewelry that will make you feel good about yourself, protect you from harm, and help you to look even prettier? You have to make it! You can find these pendant-set stones in any jewelry or new age store. The metaphysical stores have the best selection, however.

Pearls for Patience

In this fast-paced world, we are so accustomed to instant gratification (thanks, high-speed internet and same-day deliveries). We are multitasking ourselves to death. Slow down and enjoy your life. It is worth it, I assure you. Here is a quick way to simply relax and enjoy the little things in life: wear a pearl. Pearl earrings and necklaces are the best, as they calm and clear the mind.

Cranium-Calming Crystals

Lapis lazuli has been used to treat headaches for millennia. My dear friend Abby suffers from migraines and cluster headaches. I gave her some earrings with lovely blue lapis settings to help her with this chronic condition, and she has reported great success. These headaches can have many causes and triggers; my beloved amber essence oil was one until we figured that out! The main causes are stress, anxiety, and various food triggers. Oddly enough, amber in crystal form alleviated Abby’s heinous headaches, seemingly absorbing the negative energy. Amethyst and turquoise are also good for this. Several stones are good for stomach illnesses, including citrine and moonstone which create calm that, in this case, stops the stomach unrest from signaling the brain to have a headache.

New Moon Crystal Shrine

To enchant all of your jewelry, you need to create an altar for this express purpose. You can prepare the way for letting crystal and gem magic into your life, and focusing your desires and dreams, with a crystal-magic altar. If you already have an altar in place, incorporate some of the following elements. The more you use your altar, the more powerful your spells will be.

Your gem-magic altar can be a low table, the top of a chest, or even a shelf. First, you must purify the space with the smoke of a sage bundle. This is called smudging, and is essential in clearing energy to make way for magic. You can use wild sage or purchase it at any herb store or metaphysical five and dime.

Once you have smudged the space, cover your altar with your favorite fabric; I recommend the color white. Place a candle in each corner. I prefer candles of many colors to represent the rainbow array of gems. Place gems and crystals of your choice around the candles. Rose quartz is a heart stone, and fluorite is a calming crystal, so these are good choices for grounding yourself, particularly if your altar is in your bedroom, as many are! Add to the altar fresh flowers, incense you simply love to smell, and any objects that have special meaning to you. Some folks place lovely shells or feathers they have found in their paths or on the beach, and others use imagery that is special, like a goddess statue or a star shape. The most important point is that your altar be pleasing to your eye and your sensibilities. You should feel that it represents the deepest aspects of you as a person.

Ideally, you will bless your altar on a new moon. Light the candles and incense, and say aloud:

Here burns happiness about me,
Peace and harmony are in abundance, 
Here my happiness abounds.
Gems and jewels—these bones of the earth 
Bring love, prosperity, health and mirth.

Be it ever thus that joy is the light 
That here burns bright.
Blessed be!

You have now consecrated your altar. It will ease your spirit anytime and become your power source. Your altar connects you to the earth of which you and all gems and crystals are a part. Your altar will connect you to the crystal magic that has now entered your life. Whenever you want to add a dash of magic or a supernatural sparkle to a stone or piece of jewelry, you can place it on your altar for seven days. On the seventh day, wear the jewelry and bewitch everyone you encounter! Remember that your level of clarity and concentration will be reflected in the jewel’s power.

Now, enjoy your sacred stones.

Hope and Healing Candle Consecration

Recently, I have been wishing and hoping for peace in this world of ours, as have most of us. I have been making, burning, and giving away candles with the word “peace” written with crystals embedded in the soft candle wax.

If possible, perform this spell during a full moon night for the greatest effect. Place your stained-glass peace candle on your altar and light rose incense, which represents love and unity. Light the candle and chant:

I light this candle for hope,
I light this candle for love,
I light this candle for unity,
I light this candle for the good of all the world 
That we should live in peace. And so it shall be.

Sit in front of your altar and meditate, eyes closed, for a few minutes while visualizing peace in the world. Let the candle burn completely for full charging. Whenever the world around you feels chaotic, light this candle and meditate on a sense of peace enveloping you. And it will.

Citrine Serenity Ceremony (All Moon Phases)

Light a yellow candle for mental clarity, and anoint with calming and uplifting bergamot oil. Place a yellow rose in a vase to the left of the candle. To the right, place a bowl containing at least two citrine or quartz crystals.

Saffron water is made by boiling a single teaspoon of saffron from your cupboard in two quarts of distilled water. Let cool to room temperature and pour into the bowl of crystals. Put your hands together as in prayer, and dip your hands in the bowl. Touch your “third eye” in the center of your forehead, anointing yourself with the saffron water. Now, speak aloud:

Goddess great, fill me with your presence.This night, I am whole and at peace.
Breathing in, breathing out, I feel your safe embrace. 
And so it is.

Sandalwood Spell for Grounding (Waning Moon and New Moon)

Sandalwood, from the Sanskrit word chandana, has been used for thousands of years in India. The woody, sweet smell clears your mind and reconnects you to the earth. This simple spell can actually be used every day as prayer, or to prepare for meditation. Light a stick of sandalwood incense and “smudge” the area with the soothing smoke.

Anoint a brown candle with sandalwood oil. In scentless base oil, such as canola, olive or sesame, add:

• Six drops sandalwood oil
• Two drops lemon oil
• Two drops amber oil

Warm this concoction in a clay oil lamp or carefully heat it on the stove. When it is warm to the touch, dip your left ring finger into the oil and anoint your “third eye,” located in the center of your forehead, just above the eyes.

Sitting in the cross-legged lotus position, whisper three times:

Come to me clarity, come to me peace, 
Come to me wisdom. Come to me bliss. 
I sit in stillness, I sit in peace.
As above, so below; and so it is.

Meditate for twenty minutes, and then massage the warmed oil into your feet. You will be utterly and blissfully grounded now.

The Supernatural Spectrum – Candle Color Magic

For a peaceful home, burn blue candles on Thursday. 
To overcome fear, burn red candles on Sunday.
For inner peace, burn silver candles on Monday.
For self confidence, burn red candles on Sunday.
For kindness and compassion, burn pink candles on Friday.
For physical well-being, burn green candles on Friday.
To overcome regret or guilt, burn white candles on Saturday. 
For mental clarity, burn yellow candles on Wednesday.
To let go of anger, burn orange candles on Tuesday. 
For success at work, burn green candles on Friday.

Moonstone Mirror Magic

Moonstone is a psychic mirror, especially for females. Wise women of ancient India were the first to figure this out. If you are feeling out-of-sorts or off-center, turn to this lovely stone, sacred to the shining orb in our night sky. Under moonlight, gaze first at the moon and then at your smooth, round moonstone and look for the answer to your personal mystery. A message will come to you in the form of a dream this night. Keep a journal at your bedside to record this moonlit message.

Soak Your Soul Replenishment Rite

To rid yourself of negative emotions, try this purification bath. Draw a warm bath at noon when the sun is at its healing peak, and add the essential oils into the water as it flows from the faucet:

• Two drops rosemary for calm
  
• One drop peppermint for stimulation
  
• One drop lavender for energy cleansing
  
• Three drops thyme to relieve mental exhaustion 

As you soak and steam, repeat this prayer four times.

Sadness I release you – goodbye.
Fatigue, I release you – goodbye.
I greet this day anew, I great my life renewed. 

Blessed be.

Bed Blessing

Anoint your bed with this special charm. In a red cup, mix a half- teaspoon of jasmine oil and a half-teaspoon of rose oil. Take a cotton ball and dip it into the bliss oil. Touch it to your clean sheets seven times from where you rest your head to the feet, for each chakra point. Then speak aloud:

In this bed, I show my love. 
In this bed, I share my body. 
In this bed, I give my heart.
In this bed, we are as one.

Here, my happiness lies as I give and live in total joy. 
Blessed be to me and thee.

Now, lie down and roll around in the bed. After all, that is what it is for!

Kitchen Witch Alchemy

Marigold blossoms gathered at high noon will raise your energy level.

Lettuce juice (made in a juicer or food processor) rubbed on your temples and forehead will dispel sleeplessness.

Holly was once believed to repel lightening.

Hazel branches make excellent wands and divining rods. Used like pendulums, they help you answer questions.

Garlic guards against evil spirits, disease and bad weather.

Cyclamen eases the pain of grief.

Cucumber peel placed on your temple and forehead cures headaches.

Green Magic - Basil Abundance Ritual

Take a few sprigs of basil before you cook and put them in a green bowl on your kitchen altar. Boil water as for tea and pour over the herb in the bowl. Now chant this medieval-inspired charm:

With bounteous hand and healthful balm, 
Blessed basil, most verdurous herb
Bring me health and heart and calm. 
Abundance I shall see by every deed and verb. 
And so it is.

Breathe in the steam from the basil bowl and fill your lungs with the smell of prosperity. Repeat the spell once more; leave the basil bowl on your altar for 24 hours. Not only will your thinking be greatly clarified, but you will begin to see signs of your wealth increasing in one week. With basil flourishing in your herb pots, you have a ready source bursting with positive money energy.

Magic on the Move – Parking Pendant (All Moon Phases)

Hang a red jasper crystal attached to a string on your rearview mirror in your car and your parking problems will soon be over. When you need a spot, touch the jasper and say, “See the parking spot; be the parking spot.” Remember to always give thanks to the parking gods and goddesses to remain in their favor.