Tips ’n’ Tricks: Crystalline Catalyst

If you are reading this book, it is a good sign that you are wanting positive change in your life. Crystals and gems are powerful vehicles for creating advantageous new directions for you to try. Certain crystals are revolutionary rocks—they can bring fresh change into your life NOW. Moonstone stimulates all the senses. Onyx helps with self-control. Peridot balances the physical energies. Sapphire is a motivator. Pink quartz helps overcome bad habits. Bloodstone rids emotional blockage. Alexandrite encourages love for life.

Making the Tools of the Magical Trade Part I

Just as you can design your own rituals, you can create your own ritual accessories and tools. Your intentions and personal energy are the driving forces behind the enchantments you create, and the same is true of crafting magical tools.

Charm Boxes

Native Americans, Greeks, Celts, and Egyptians all used magical boxes during ceremonies and for storing sacred objects. Christian religions followed suit—the famous biblical Ark of the Covenant was, in fact, a magical box. Spell work during medieval times involved boxes for love, health, fertility and home and in the fields, prosperity, and changes of luck. In more modern times, a young woman’s “hope chest” contained her wishes, intentions, and materials for a happy marriage.

You can make charm boxes, also known as spell boxes, very easily. A job spell box should contain aventurine or peridot stones, patchouli incense, green candles, and ferns. You can make a psychic spell box with cloves, rosemary, and amethyst and quartz crystals. A good love spell box contains a pink candle, rose petals, two pieces of rose quartz, and two copper pennies. These are just some of the examples; more suggestions are in the appendix in the back of this book.

Mirrors

Throughout time, people have been looking for answers in mirrors, gazing balls, pools, and even using bowls filled with ink to peer into another dimension. Primitive people used obsidian and other shiny rocks to communicate with spirits. Surfaces that are shiny, smooth, and reflective have always lent themselves well to scrying and other intuitive work. Because of their use in scrying, mirrors came to be seen as magical portals to promote psychic awareness to other worlds.

It is possible to create your own scrying mirror and empower it with energy and intention in a variety of ways. First, find
a round mirror with a frame that will make it easy to apply crystals or other objects with glue (I like to use wood or plastic). The frame should have a lot of surface area on which you can affix your magical objects. There are many objects that are suitable for your mirror. If you collect sea glass or shells and pretty rocks, those will suffice. If you don’t have any objects on hand, visit a rock shop or a New Age store. You can purchase seashells and fifty to a hundred small crystals. The crystals can be various quartzes and semiprecious stones of similar shape and small in size.

You can use a rainbow of colors or you can stick with just one kind of stone. I prefer to use all amethysts on my mirror; I feel more connected to this lovely purple gem because it is my birthstone.

Before applying the clear-drying glue to your frame, clean it with a soft, dry cloth. Take your crystals, shells, glass or other items and affix them one at a time, in any pattern you like. Some examples of mirrors I’ve come across featured concentric circles of color, following the spectrum from dark red garnet to clear quartz, and gorgeous spirals and paisley prints all across the frame.

Different kinds of questing and querying may call for several different magic mirrors. 

Different Gems to Use for Your Mirror

Peridot—Issues relating to self-image and matters centered upon you

Rough Rubies—Matters relating to love

Jade—Money matters

Sea Glass and Seashells—Effective for Water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces), especially if gathered during a walk on the beach while searching for answers

Anyone who feels drawn to the ocean will benefit from a seashell magic mirror. Many of us go for walks along the water to think. Using seashells on your mirror can help you be twice as effective in finding your answers. 

Peridot

Pretty, pale green peridot is the gem variety of oviline. Peridot has been mined as a gemstone for more than 4,000 years, and until recently, the best-quality stones came from Egypt. Now, Arizona has lovely specimens, and Pakistan may have the world’s finest-quality peridot at this point. Peridot has a nearly unmatched clarity and is considered a visionary stone. It helps us connect to our higher life purpose and achieve a deeper soul connection. Peridot is a real confidence booster, too. It cuts through the clouds and helps achieve quick results. If you are shy and slow moving, peridot may make things happen a little too quickly for your comfort level. You should also get really clear about what you truly want. If you are confused about your worldly goals, this is not the stone for you!

Peridot helps release toxins and brings issues to the surface so that they can be cleared away. This gem is peerless for the release of anger. The clarity of peridot will help you realize clarity in your sphere, as well. Peridot is good for the skin and is a stomach soother.

Chrysolite

This stone, also known as olivine or as peridot, its popular name, is commonly found among the crystal meteorites, with a glassy luster and a great degree of hardness coming from the mountainous regions of Russia, North America, and Italy.

A common mistake people make with the green or yellow versions of this stone is to confuse them with topaz. Chrysolite has long-held associations with the sun and solar energies as well as the month of August. For centuries it has been used to drive away evil spirits and madness. It is a stone of hope, having the capacity to free the self from sorrow and despair. If you are going through an especially difficult time, wear chrysolite until you have gotten past the pain.

This cheerful crystal gives inspiration. Chrysolite is a creativity crystal. It frees the imagination and counteracts negativity. For people who feel hampered by the rules of society and unable to truly express themselves and their inner beings, this stone is a great boost to personal freedom. Depressives can also find solace here. Chrysolite provides ease to those who feel careworn and overburdened. This uplifting stone also lends better psychic insight and receptivity, a great aid to meditation.

Chrysolite is a cleanser believed to assist the appendix and help with detoxifying the intestinal tract. Detox your body and mind with cheery chrysolite.

Peridot—Pele’s Teardrop

Peridot is one of the most misunderstood gems on the planet. It is really a combination of two other stones, fayalite and forsterite, with a bit of iron, a dash of nickel and a pinch of chromium. The world’s oldest source of the green charmer was the mist-shrouded desert island of Zeberget, also called Saint John’s Island, off Egypt’s coast. Unfortunately for the peridot miners, this island was a pit of deadly, venomous snakes! The pharaohs so treasured their peridot that any uninvited visitors to the island were put to death. Nowadays, the only residents of Zerberget are a few turtles and some seabirds. Perhaps the stones from the breastplate of Solomon and his high priest, Aaron, came from this odd little island. Peridot was one of the twelve stones believed to have the power to create miracles for the rituals of these priests and to help protect them in battle. Furthermore, Solomon drank soma (an intoxicating plant juice) from cups carved from peridot, thus gaining his wealth of wisdom.

Now that the mines on Zeberget are no more, most peridot is mined by Native Americans in Arizona and in the exotic locales of Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and the Kashmir Himalayas. Peridot has also been found in some meteorites. In the 1920s, a farmer in Kansas awoke one day to find lumps of peridot-studded meteorite in his fields. Maybe you really have to follow the peridot road to get to Oz!

It is believed that Cleopatra, queen of the Nile, adorned herself with high-quality peridots instead of emeralds. The Romans called peridot the evening emerald. This stone, brought back as booty by the Knights Templar and Crusaders, was used to adorn cathedrals in medieval times. One the Shrine of the Magi in Germany’s Cologne Cathedral, there is a huge 200-carat peridot.

The powers of peridot are believed to be twice as intense if it is set in gold. Peridot was thought to have the power to drive away evil, and if you are so lucky as to have a goblet carved out of peridot, any medicine you might drink out of it will have magical healing powers. In Hawaii, the lore of this gem is that the goddess Pele cried tears that turned into peridots.

Money Bags

Rather than chasing money or possessions, you can simply draw them to you with wisdom from days gone by. A tiny green pouch filled with the herb vervain, a silver dollar, and lapis lazuli or peridot, is a powerful tool for making positive change in your life and attracting good fortune.

Prepare your attraction pouch during a waxing moon (ideally when the Moon is in the sign of Taurus). Hold the pouch over frankincense incense and let the smoke bless the bag as you speak:

“The moon is a silver coin;
I carry lunar abundance with me.
Blessings upon thee and me.”

Revenue Stream

After your Employment Incantation, you might want to immerse yourself in the waters of prosperity with a money bath. This particular ritual is most effective if practiced on Thursday night during a new or full moon. Pour apple green or lemon verbena essential oil into running bathwater and bathe by the light of a single green candle. As you close your eyes, meditate on your truest desires. What does personal property mean to you? What do you really need and what do you really want? When you are clear about your answers, put on all of your green gem jewelry—peridot, green jade, tourmaline, malachite, and so on. Focus on the candle flame while whispering:

“Here and now, my intention is set.
New luck will be mine and all needs will be met.
With harm to none and plenty for all. Blessed be.”

Soul Stones: Aquarius

First Half: January 20–February 3

Olivine is the soul gem of choice for first half Aquarians, and it is a stone with a royal heritage. The Egyptians believed this peridot to be the stone of the gods. The long, convoluted, and quite bizarre history of this stone entirely suits Aquarians, who are ruled by Uranus, the planet of chaos and unexpected change. Wear a dark-green olivine on momentous occasions to mark them as special in

your life.

The heart stone for this group is moldavite. With its otherworldly meteorite origin, it is perfect for the Uranian bolt-from-the-blue these scientist-philosophers represent. Moldavite is a mysterious and powerful crystal with many mist-shrouded legends and theories. No doubt, an Aquarius will get to the bottom of them all, one day. Moldavite will add to your Aquarian brilliance and boost your personal creativity to new heights.

Second Half: February 4–February 18

Diopside is the beautiful blue soul stone for later-born Aquarians. This stone has ties to both Uranus, the official ruling planet of Aquarius, and Saturn, the sign’s ruler before Uranus was discovered. In 1964, star diopside, an included type, was found; it is a magical and stunningly gorgeous stone that has a quality of electric enlightenment, just like these February-born inventors, artists, and visionary businesspeople.

The heart stone for second-half Aquarians is charoite, a purple mineral that corresponds with Venus, Saturn, and Uranus. This is a fairly recent rock, perfect for the modern- minded February-born, who are generally fifty years ahead of everyone else. Chaorite was discovered circa 1947 near the Chara River in Russia and was immediately greeted as a very special stone for modern history.

Mint Money Bags (Moon in Taurus, Cancer or Capricorn)

Rather than chasing money or possessions, you can simply draw them toward you with wisdom from days gone by. A tiny green pouch filled with the herbs chamomile and mint, three cinnamon sticks, one silver dollar and a green stone—peridot or a smooth mossy-colored pebble of jade—would be perfect. The untrained eye might perceive this as a bag of weeds and rocks but any kitchen witch knows this is a powerful tool for creating powerful change into your life and attracting good fortune.

Prepare your attraction pouch during a waxing moon; the strongest power would be when the sun or moon is in Taurus, Cancer or Capricorn. Hold the pouch over frankincense incense and as the smoke blesses the bag, you speak:

The moon is a silver coin; this I know.
I carry lunar magic with me everywhere I go. 
Blessings upon thee and me as my abundance grows.

Carry this power pouch with you as you go about your way—to work, to the store, on your daily walks, to social events. Soon, blessings will shower down upon you. You might even receive a gift or literally find money in your path.

Goddess Invocation - Sowing Seeds of Change

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 a wildflower mix or poppies which are extremely hardy, grow quickly and spread, beautifying any area. They re-seed themselves, which is a lovely bonus.

On a new moon morning, draw a square in your yard with a “found in nature” wand, a fallen branch. Apartment dwellers can use a planter on a deck or a big pot for this ritual. Each corner of the square needs a candle and a special stone. I get my stones at new age bookstores, which often have the shiny tumbled versions for as little as one dollar. Mark the corners as follows:

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

Repeat this chant as you light each candle:

Greatest Selene, I turn to you to help me renew, 
Under this new moon and in this old earth. 
Blessings to you; blessings to me. Blessed be.

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.