Activate Your Third Eye: Labradorescence

Labradorite is a stunning stone with a lovely iridescence. As a magpie who is attracted to shiny objects, it grabs my attention every time. It can look as dull as dirt until you give it a closer examination; then you can see the glow under the surface. When cut and polished, it is fascinating and gorgeous, with an impressive light show of yellows, oranges, blues, and violets. In fact, the special play of light and color across the surface is called labradorescence. The effect is caused by lamellar intergrowths, produced inside the crystal while the crystal formed. Named after the place it was first found, Labrador, this loveliest of shiny objects can also be found in India, Finland, Russia, Newfoundland, and Madagascar.

As you might guess, this bluish feldspar is a soul stone with a very powerful light energy. It abets astral travel and connecting with the higher consciousness and is a favorite of mystics. It brings up nothing but positivity for the mind and excises the lower energies of anxiety, stress, and negative thoughts. It is an aura cleanser and balancer. Labradorite also protects against aura leakage wherein your personal energy drains out, leading to mental exhaustion and a case of the blues. This is a crystal to hold and keep with you during meditation, to enable psychic flashes, much like the flashes of light from within the stone.

I had no idea that it is also a stone that awakens psychic powers and activates your third eye until I learned this from the great teacher Scott Cunningham. Even a small piece of this special crystal will work. Take the crystal and hold it to the center of your forehead with both hands. Speak aloud:

    Artemis, Astarte, Athena, Circe—fill me with your power,

    On this day, I ask you lend me your seer’s vision.

    I stand at the threshold in this holy hour.

    And so it is. Great goddesses; I am grateful.

Getting Grounded in Yourself: Chakra Centering Visualization

 

The best way to prepare for personal ritual is to center yourself. I call this “doing a readjustment,” and I believe this is especially important in our overscheduled and busy world. Doing a readjustment helps pull you back into yourself and gets your priorities on track again. Only when you are truly centered can you do the genuine inner work of self-development that is at the core of ritual.

Centering takes many forms. Experiment on your own to find out what works best for you. My priestess pal Kat, for example, does a quick meditation that she calls “the chakra check-in.” The chakra system comprises energy points in the astral body, an energetic aura attached to your physical body that is associated with various endocrine glands in the physical body. My friend closes her eyes and sits lotus-fashion (with her legs crossed, feet on thighs—but if you are on a bus or about to attend a meeting, you can do this centering exercise just sitting down, feet on the floor—and visualizes the light and color of each chakra. She brings to mind each chakra and mentally runs energy up and down her spine, from bottom to top, pausing at each chakra point. After she does this a few times, a soothing calm surrounds her. I have seen her perform her “chakra check-in” at trade shows and in hotel lobbies, surrounded by the hubbub of many people. She is an ocean of calm at the center of a storm. By working with your chakras, you can become much more in touch with your body and soul.

The root chakra is at the base of your spine and is associated with passion, survival and security, and the color red.

Above it is the sacral chakra in the abdominal region, which corresponds to such physical urges as hunger and sex, and the color orange.

The solar plexus chakra is associated with personal power, and the color yellow.

The heart chakra is the emotional center, for all strong feelings from love and happiness to the opposite. It is also associated with spiritual development, the higher self, and the color green.

The throat chakra is considered the center of communication, and is blue in color.

The third eye chakra is located in the center of your forehead and is associated with intuition, and the color indigo.

The crown chakra at the very top of your head is your connection to the universe, and is violet in color.

Prior to performing a ritual, try this centering exercise. Take a comfortable sitting position and find your pulse. Keep your fingers on your pulse until you feel the steady rhythm of your own heart. Now begin slowly breathing, in rhythm with your heartbeat. Inhale for four beats, hold for four beats, and then exhale for five beats. Repeat this pattern for six cycles. People have reported that although it seems hard to match up with the heartbeat at first, with a little bit of practice, your breath and heartbeat will synchronize. Your entire body will relax as you are filled with calm.

Labradorescence: Activate Your Third Eye

Labradorite is a stunning stone with a lovely iridescence. As a magpie who is attracted to shiny objects, it grabs my attention every time. It can look as dull as dirt until you give it a closer examination; then you can see the glow under the surface. When cut and polished, it is fascinating and gorgeous, with an impressive light show including yellows, oranges, blues, and violets. In fact, the special play of light and color across the surface is called labradorescence. The effect is caused by lamellar intergrowths, which were produced inside the crystal while the crystal formed during a shift of temperature from extremely high to very low. Named for the place it was first found, Labrador, this loveliest of shiny objects can also be found in India, Finland, Russia, Newfoundland, and Madagascar.

As you might guess, this bluish feldspar is a soul stone with a very powerful light energy. It abets astral travel, the higher mind, and intelligence and is a favorite of mystics. It brings up nothing but the positive for the brain and consciousness and excises the lower energies of anxiety, stress, and negative thoughts. It is an aura cleanser and balancer. Labradorite, which used to be called spectrolite, also protects against aura leakage. This is a crystal to hold and keep with your during meditation for psychic flashes, much like the flashes of light from within the stone.

I had no idea that it is also a stone that awakens psychic powers and activates your third eye until I learned this from the great teacher Scott Cunningham. Even a small piece of this special crystal will work. Take the crystal and hold it to the center of your forehead with both hands. Speak aloud:

Artemis, Astarte, Athena, Circe—fill me with your power, 

On this day, I ask you lend me your seer’s vision.

I stand at the threshold in this holy hour.

And so it is. Great goddesses; I am grateful.

Rainbow Renewal

The rainbow is a simple and effective method for total- body wellness. Choose from this list of stones, making sure you have one of each color of the rainbow—violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red—plus one white stone and one black stone for completion. Then, simply lay the stones on their corresponding chakra centers; the rainbow should travel up your body. Red for your root chakra, orange for your sacral chakra, yellow for your solar plexus chakra, green for your heart chakra, blue for your throat chakra, indigo for your third eye chakra, and violet for your crown chakra. I’ve included a list of crystal and body affinities in case there is any specific area you want to focus on:

• Amber for the thyroid
  
• Benitoite for the pituitary
  
• Beryl for the eyes
  
• Bloodstone for the kidneys
  
• Blue tourmaline for the thymus
  
• Brown jasper for the shins and for the skin
• Calcite for the skeletal system 
• Carnelian for the liver
• Celestite for the intestines
  
• Chalcedony for the spleen
• Chrysocolla for the pancreas 
• Chrysolite for the appendix
  
• Chrysoprase for the prostate 
• Danburite for the muscles
• Dendrite agate for the nervous system 
• Dioptase for the lungs
  
• Fire agate for the stomach
  
• Fluorite for the teeth
• Garnet for the spine
  
• Hematite for the blood and circulatory system 
• Jadeite for the knees
  
• Lapis lazuli for the throat
  
• Magnetite for the joints
  
• Moldavite for the hands
  
• Moonstone for the womb area
• Orange calcite for the bladder
  
• Purple fluorite for the bone marrow 
• Rose quartz for the heart
  
• Smoky quartz for the feet

Astral Azurite

The great psychic and healer Edgar Cayce used this blue beauty for achieving remarkable meditative states during which he had astoundingly accurate visions and prophetic dreams. Indeed, azurite helps achieve a high state of mental clarity and powers of concentration. If you can’t find the answer to a problem in the here and now, try looking for solutions on the astral plane. Write the problem down on paper and place it under a small azurite overnight on a windowsill so it collects moonlight.

At 11:11 a.m., lie comfortably in a quiet and darkened room with the azurite stone placed over your third eye on your forehead. Clear your mind of everything for eleven minutes and meditate. Sit up and listen for the first thing that comes into your mind—it should be the answer or a message regarding the issue at hand. Write down the words you receive. The rest of the day you will be in a state of grace and higher mind during which you will hear information and answers to help guide you in many aspects of your life. If you, like me, enjoy this meditation, you may want to do it every day at 11:11 a.m. and every night at 11:11 p.m. I strongly suggest that you keep a journal of these “azurite answers.” You may receive information that you won’t understand until many years have passed, making the journal an invaluable resource and key to your very special life.

Mystical Mugwort Spell: Sharpening Your Second Sight

Honing your intuition will enhance every aspect of your life, and this spell, which can sharpen your sixth sense, is an excellent place to start.

Gather together:

• 1 stick of vanilla incense
• Yellow candle
• Small jar or pouch of mugwort herb
• Small yellow citrine crystal
• Teaspoon of dried mugwort
• Ceramic bowl of hot water

Light the candle, and then light the stick of vanilla incense and place it in a fire-safe burner. Now place the single yellow flower in a vase to one side of the incense burner. Yellow symbolizes intelligence and mental clarity. On the other side, place a bowl containing a citrine crystal.

In your teakettle, boil two cups of freshly drawn water. Pour it in the ceramic bowl and add in the teaspoon of mugwort and stir. Once it has cooled completely, dip your fingers in the water and touch your “third eye” at the center of your forehead. Now speak aloud:

    Diana, Goddess of the Moon,

    fill me with your presence divine.

    I seek your vision; lend me this boon.

    Greatest seer, may the second sight be mine.

    And so it is. And may it be soon.

Mugwort has long been used in magical workings, starting in Mesopotamia and expanding to Europe, Asia, and now the world. It is used by seers and shamans for achieving new levels of consciousness. Mugwort is especially good for the mental plane and helps to overcome headaches and soothe anxiety for mental balance and calm. It will help you hone your psychic abilities, which will help and guide you through life.

Your Chakras

First Chakra—Patchouli Grounds Your Root Chakra

Patchouli balances the root chakra at the base of your spine. Represented by the color red and associated with the then physical element of earth, the root chakra is about grounding to the physical world and basic survival and self-preservation. Using patchouli will enable you to be grounded and have more stability, stillness, prosperity, and robust health, as well as a sense of safety and security. This essential oil also helps you overcome fatigue and feeling down.

Second Chakra—Neroli Balances Your Sacral Chakra

Neroli essential oil stabilizes the sacral chakra, which is located in the lower abdomen between the pelvis and the navel center, a few inches below the belly button. Associated with the element of water and the color orange, it represents vitality and passion and is associated with the sacral vertebra as well as the reproductive organs and the body’s circulatory system. A balanced sacral chakra carries the following characteristics: ability to enjoy pleasure, emotional intelligence, sexual satisfaction, passion, and the ability to embrace change. This essential oil brings the energy of pure love and lightness of being, driving away sorrows and bringing a peaceful, stable sense of calm. Neroli also opens you to love within yourself and the freedom of allowing love to flow freely.

Third Chakra—Pine Invigorates Your Solar Plexus Chakra

Pine essential oil is connected to the solar plexus chakra, which is located above the navel and correlates with the color yellow and the element of fire. The solar plexus chakra represents willpower, motivation, and vigor and is associated with the pancreas, liver, spleen, stomach, lower back muscles, and the metabolism and digestion. A balanced solar plexus chakra gives rise to confidence, warmth, self-discipline, steadiness, and a positive sense of self. Pine essential oil is an oil for the restoration of the heart when your emotions have become hard or jaded. This oil releases you from old wounds, letting you move forward without the baggage of the past and bringing the ability to experience your emotions in real time versus playing out echoes from the past. This oil allows you to move forward. You will feel replenished and new, which will allow you to bring growth and inner peace to your future relationships.

Fourth Chakra—Rose Oil Opens Your Heart Chakra

Rose essential oil will open and balance your heart chakra and bring self-acceptance and love into your life. This chakra center is associated with the color green and the element of air, and it is related to the lymph glands, heart, rib cage, lungs, skin, arms, hands, circulation, and the immune system. A balanced heart chakra will lead to the following characteristics in an individual: healthy self-esteem, contentment, compassion, acceptance, and peace of mind. Use rose essential oil’s scent for releasing blocked feelings stored in the chest, internalized grief, melancholy, and repressed emotions.

Fifth Chakra—Lavender Aids Your Throat Chakra

Lavender essential oil is connected to the throat chakra, which correlates to the colors blue or turquoise and the element of spirit or ether. The throat chakra is about speaking, self-expression, and communication and is associated with the thyroid, esophagus, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, and the sense of hearing. A balanced throat chakra will support the following characteristics: clear communication with others and self, good listening skills, good sense of time, and a full voice. Lavender essential oil brings spiritual growth by helping you integrate your experiences, bringing an expanded awareness and perspective. This oil will help you communicate more effectively.

Sixth Chakra—Sandalwood Awakens Your Third Eye Chakra

The third eye chakra is located in the middle of the forehead and is represented by the color indigo and the element of light. The third eye chakra represents self-reflection and knowledge. It is also associated with the pituitary gland, left brain hemisphere, left eye, nose, ears, sinuses, conscious mind, the endocrine system, neurological system, and small muscle control. A balanced third eye chakra will yield strong intuition, good memory, ease remembering dreams, the ability to visualize, and a guiding vision for life. Sandalwood essential oil abets meditation and is used by healers and spiritual leaders worldwide as it brings an inner awareness and sense of ease in engaging with higher consciousness. Sandalwood helps break down illusions, helping you align with your most authentic self.

Seventh Chakra—Lime Energizes Your Crown Chakra

Lime essential oil is for the crown chakra at the very top of your head. Represented by violet and the element of thought, this chakra is the center of self-knowledge, self-will, and divine connection. It is associated with the pineal gland, pituitary gland, cerebral cortex, cerebrum, the right eye, the right brain hemisphere, the central nervous system, the subconscious mind, and large muscle control. A balanced crown chakra will produce wisdom, intelligence, the ability to analyze, spiritual connection, and open mindedness. Lime is a great essential oil to use for cutting and detaching energy cords that no longer serve you. This oil is useful for enhancing your perception of the truth inside any situation. It allows you to release any illusion that you may have confused with reality.

Here are a few more suggestions:

• Root Chakra: Cypress
• Sacral Chakra: Ylang-ylang
• Solar Plexus Chakra: Ginger
• Heart Chakra: Jasmine
• Throat Chakra: Roman Chamomile
• Third Eye Chakra: Rosemary
• Crown Chakra: Frankincense

Chakra Tonics: Laying on of Stones

This healing practice is distilled from the study of chakras. Here are just a few examples of how to apply stones directly upon your body or that of anyone else who needs healing. By working with your chakras, you can become much more in touch with your body and soul.

The root chakra is at the base of your spine and is associated with passion, survival, security, and the color red. Above it is the sacral chakra in the lower abdominal region, which corresponds to such physical urges as hunger and sexuality; the color is orange. The solar plexus chakra is yellow and is associated with personal power. The heart chakra is green and symbolizes harmony, creativity, health, abundance, and nature. It is the energy center where the soul color of yellow and the spiritual color of blue combine. The throat chakra is blue and is considered the center of communication. The third eye chakra is located in the center of your forehead; it is associated with intuition and the color indigo. The crown chakra at the very top of your head is your connection to the universe and is violet in color.

The first step for anyone undertaking crystal healing is to lie down, relax, and get very comfortable. Empty everything else from your mind.

Lapis lazuli and its fellow blue gemstone aquamarine can be laid upon the throat chakra to release any blockage therein. This greatly aids in self-expression and is wonderful for professional speakers as well as performers such as actors and singers. Turquoise laid on the face—cheeks, forehead, and chin—is a calming agent that significantly reduces tension. Azurite on the brow opens the third eye and deepens wisdom; this can balance the energy of the head and allow more light into the third eye.

Malachite, a green heart stone, when placed near the heart and along the center of the abdomen will create a sense of harmony and facilitate letting go of pain, suffering, and old childhood wounds.

The rainbow is a simple and effective method for total body wellness. Choose from this list of stones, making sure you have one of each color of the rainbow—violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red—plus one white stone and one black stone for completion. Then, simply lay the stones on their corresponding chakra centers. I’ve included a list of crystal and body affinities in case there is any specific area you want to focus on:

Root Chakra

• jasper for the shins and for the skin
• garnet for the blood
• purple fluorite for the bone marrow
• jadeite for the knees
• chrysoprase for the prostate

Sacral Chakra

• moonstone for the womb area
• carnelian for the liver
• celestite for the intestines
• orange calcite for the bladder
• hematite for the liver and circulatory system

Solar Plexus Chakra

• chrysocolla for the pancreas
• fire agate for the stomach
• danburite for the muscles
• chalcedony for the spleen
• fire agate for the stomach

Heart Chakra

• rose quartz for the heart
• chrysolite for the appendix
• blue tourmaline for the thymus
• dioptase for the lungs
• moldavite for the hands
• moss agate for circulation and immune boosting

Throat Chakra

• amber for the thyroid
• lapis lazuli for the throat
• fluorite for the teeth
• calcite for the skeletal system

Third Eye Chakra

• benitoite for the pituitary
• beryl for the eyes
• calcite for the skeletal system
• dendrite agate for the nervous system

Crown Chakra

• citrine protects the aura
• Herkimer diamond for centered awareness
• coral calms and soothes nerves
• fluorite for coordination and balance
• amethyst for sobriety

Selenite

Here we have an angelic stone, one that can help you tune into your guardian angels and discover the real reason you are here on Earth—the divine purpose for your existence. Named for the moon, this white, glowing lucky stone is gypsum and must be handled carefully, as it is partially water soluble. Egyptians favored this white stone as an amulet. This is a great calmer and is magnificent for mental focus. As a chakra healer, selenite helps rid unhealthy and negative thoughts, yours or others’, from your mind and etheric body. This stone can also be placed over the third eye to access stored information about your past lives. Selenite, with its white swirls, can give an enormous boost to creative visualization. In the same way this crystal retains, it is good for letting go and helps you forgive. Selenite can also be used for healing of the nerves, reproductive organs, and spine, lending flexibility. It is a record-keeping stone and carries information from the centuries on Earth it has witnessed. it can be a most auspicious crystal ball for gazing. A rare kind of selenite is gold selenite from Australia. It is good for grounding.

Siberian Blue

One type of blue quartz I have recently become fascinated with is called the Flower of Life and comes from cold Siberia. This is a special cut that enhances the beneficial energies inherent in the crystal and causes energy to spiral through the crystal itself and get amplified every time it reverberates against a facet in the cut. Following the principles of sacred geometry, each side is cut into a six-petaled flower, creating a stunning twelve-pointed star. Additionally, this blue quartz carries the blue ray, which touches upon the throat and the third eye, awakening powerful intuition and the ability to communicate the visions. 

Lapis Lazuli

 

As long as I can remember, this has been one of my favorite stones. The mysterious blue and extremely compelling surface is like no other, both smooth and rough at the same time. Some lapis lazuli specimens are even flecked with fool’s gold, pyrite, giving an irresistible glitter. Still others are swirled with streaks of white calcite.

Through lapis lazuli, I feel a connection with all things ancient. I associate lapis lazuli with the Egyptians, but it is now most often found in Russia and Afghanistan. The Egyptians favored this handsome rock immensely, and it was their most highly regarded talisman, considered to be most magical. Lapis lazuli is the gateway to unlocking your own intuition and, as such, is invaluable.

As with any other crystal, it must be used with thoughtfulness and caution, but do double your vigilance with this one! It is one of the major mental stones; lapis lazuli is a thought amplifier very nearly second to none. Lapis also enhances psychic power and can open the third eye by being laid very briefly on your forehead in the place of the third eye.

In this day and age, almost all of us are overextended and become so busy that we get away from our core. There is a danger with this: We can get off track and stop living our lives—our lives are living us. We can get so caught up in the business of work and home and family obligations that we are not living out our destinies. Lapis lazuli is a stone that will help you always stay in touch with your essence, with who you are supposed to be becoming. Blue is always the color of peace, spirituality, and tranquility. Lapis lazuli is a guide to be listened to in absolute stillness. In today’s world of endless distraction, I urge you to dive into the pool of blue that is lapis lazuli and restore yourself. This gem will help you regain your balance. Lapis lazuli is such a powerful healer that it has even been used to dispel hallucinations.

Lapis is a cleansing stone, which is of great aid to the lungs, the blood, the liver, the kidneys, the nervous system, and the immune system. Lapis is also a great pain reliever and can simply be applied to the spot in need of relief. This gem has been used to treat migraines for centuries. According to sage wisdom that has been passed down about this special stone, lapis lazuli must be worn above the waist to that energy is passed upward. Wear it near the throat for best effect.

Tips ’n’ Tricks: A Rainbow of Uses For Fluorite

Violet—or amethyst—colored fluorite is especially good for the bones, including the marrow. It jogs the third eye and, best of all, imparts good old common sense! Green fluorite is favored for its ability to ground and center excessive physical and mental energy. Clear fluorite awakens the crown chakra and lets go of anything holding back spiritual development. Blue fluorite facilitates mental clarity, orderly thought, and the ability to be a master communicator. Yellow fluorite kindles the synapses and awakens memory. It will also make you smarter and boost your creativity a great deal. 

Any fluorite reduces electromagnetic pollutants and cleanses the aura. Get a big chunk of fluorite at your favorite metaphysical five-and-dime and put it right beside your computer to decrease stress. Those long hours of staring at the screen will cease to sap your energy. Look at your fluorite at least once an hour to reduce eye and brain strain, too!

Danburite

Danburite is gaining attention after being relatively unknown. Named for the city of Danbury, Connecticut, where it was first found, danburite is typically white or clear vitreous crystal that can come in shades of pink, brown, or yellow. Some of the finest specimens come from Japan, and some of the largest from Siberia, but danburite is also found in Bolivia, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Mexico. Danburite is also notable for its diamond-shaped cross section. Anyone who likes utterly transparent crystal clusters will favor this stone, which is an activator of the chakras, particularly the third eye and the crown. This crystal is finding great acceptance for its ability to blend your heart and soul energies. Place danburite on your heart and on your forehead to fully receive the positive effects.

Health-wise, danburite can help underweight people gain muscle and vigor. It also detoxifies the liver and gallbladder and assists with motor function. Although it is a newer citizen of the crystal world, danburite is becoming known for its invaluable attributes in increasing intelligence and easing unfamiliar situations. It can overcome stubbornness and bring patience and peace. Get yourself some danburite if you are in a new job, a new city, or a new relationship. This stone will help you surf the waters of change with ease!

Aventurine

Associated with the eyes, this crystal is most commonly found in green, but it also appears in blue, red, and brown. Aventurine comes from Russia, India, Nepal, and Brazil and was at one time believed by Tibetans to be able to overcome myopia, both literally and figuratively. In Tibet, aventurine was also thought to have the ability to open the third eye and to release imagination and perception.

Considered to be beneficial to the thymus and the nervous system, aventurine is one of those rare general healers that can offer wellness to any part of the body upon which it is laid. As a general healing stone, it can also be used in tandem with other stones, such as rose quartz and malachite. Combined with rose quartz, aventurine can help open your heart and soul to love and compassion. Used in combination with malachite, the benefits are clarity and raised consciousness. Highly recommended and an excellent boon for young children, aventurine is a wonder stone for the well-being of the whole family.

Amazonite

Resembling the light green color of its namesake river, the Amazon, this potash feldspar, or microcline, is found in Russia, North America, and, naturally, Brazil. Green stones are frequently associated with the nervous system, and so is amazonite. This mentally stimulating crystal has the marvelous property of making the wearer more intuitive, smarter, or at least more clever: it provides focus. Amazonite should be held to your forehead to open your third eye for greater psychic ability. This is a stone for artists and is especially helpful for men.

Crystal Meditation

Crystals are tools used to heal and transform our lives. I think of them as the tools of the metaphysician. Meta means “beyond” or “above,” and physics is the science of the physical world. So metaphysics literally means “beyond physics,” and there is much that cannot be explained by ordinary science and the laws that have been established. Physics is very much about tracing energy and the origins and effects of it, yet ordinary science and physics cannot necessarily explain how crystals manage and direct energy in powerful ways. They can be used to store, change, amplify, focus, and send energy.

Crystals can be a point for focus, an aid to absolute clarity of thought and intention. I was once told that these stones can be “tuning forks” for the consciousness, a though I just love.

I recommend this meditation exercise for training yourself to gain laser-like focus: Lie on the floor in a place where you will not be distracted. Clear your thoughts and open your mind. Place a small quartz in the center of your forehead. Your pineal gland is located here, as is your third eye—the source of all intuition. After a few moments pass, you should start to have visualizations that are sort of like daydreams, but these messages are from your higher consciousness. I have had friends and workshop mates report that while performing this technique they went into another realm entirely—a fantasy world, a paradise, an unknown and a very appealing place. Nearly everyone reports that they passed through a set of gates. You should perform this meditation for about thirty minutes, but no longer. We don’t want anyone to leave us for too long and remain in reverie.

After you try meditating solo, you may want to participate in activities with a group. At a retreat I organized for Z Budapest at the Ralston White Retreat Center in Mill Valley, California, she led us through a truly magical journey deep into Mother Earth. This was for the purpose of grounding us so we could get the most benefit from the weekend adventure. With Z’s permission, I will share this meditation with you. You can do it with a group of people who have a shared intention. Start by having everyone lie down in a circle formation with their eyes closed. Z’s guided tour follows:

Blessed beings, you are about to enter the Mother, our great earth goddess, Gaia. In your mind, you are standing with bare feet on the ground. You can feel the grass with your toes, the solid earth underneath your feet. Feel the solidity and fastness of the earth fill your body with strength; we are all made of clay. We come from the death, and we are made of earth. Feel your connection to the Mother. We come from the earth, her womb. We are made of stardust and clay and the waters of the ocean. Feel the blood in your veins. The water of life. Know that you are alive. Feel her winds, the breath of life. Breathe deeply ten times, completely filling your lungs and completely emptying your lungs. Breathe and feel your chest rising and falling with each breath.

Now feel your backbone connecting to the earth; you feel a cord connecting you and your life to the earth. Concentrate on the cord until you can feel it running all the way through you and deep into the earth. Tug on the cord; feel it give. Now, take the cord in your hands and follow it down, down deep into the earth. It is dark as you go down and down, but do not be frightened. Trust in the universe and keep descending into the bosom of the Mother. Down we go, not falling but moving purposefully, gracefully, following the cord of the earth. Now you see light. Keep moving toward the light and keep holding the cord as it leads you to the shining distance.

The light grows nearer, and you see that it is an opening, a cave, a safe place in which to shelter. Enter the cave. It is filled with light, firelight reflected off a thousand crystal points. An old woman sits as the fire, warming her bones in her warm and dry cave. It is beautiful, more beautiful than the palace of any king or the castle of any queen. It is the crystal cave of the Goddess, and you are with her. Show your respect to the Goddess and light the incense at her altar at the side of the cave, piled up with many shimmering stones and priceless gems, the bounty and beauty of our generous benefactor.

Sit quietly and head the special message she has for you. You are her child, and she has dreamed a dream for you. Now we listen and breathe. Blessed be.

Z led us back to the circle, and after that, nobody’s life was ever the same. In my experience with this particular guided visualization, I could smell the incense as we lit it. All the women at this retreat had profound experiences with Z Budapest and the Goddess that day. It helped greatly to have such a skilled guide as the Dianic priestess, Ms. Budapest, with her purring Hungarian accent. But with caring intention and the willingness to really let go, we can all achieve marvelous breakthroughs with these meditative exercises.

On that day, I received a very specific insight from the Goddess to go back to graduate school and pursue my abandoned dream of a master’s degree in medieval studies. I felt exhilarated by this resolute in my decision. I felt alive with purpose and so blessed to be pursuing both my scholarship and my spirituality. I remember that the reality of working full-time and going back to school at night wasn’t easy, but whenever I started to stumble on my path, I remembered back to the crystal cave and my time with the great glowing Goddess in her magnificent crystal cave, and I immediately felt stronger.

Here is an exercise I learned long ago from my mentor in all things magical, Z Budapest, for the transformation of energy: Fill a bowl with 2 cups of water, preferably distilled or, better yet, good old rainwater. Put a chunk of clear quartz crystal that weighs at least 6 ounces into the water basin. Take another bowl of the same size and fill it with the exact same kind of water and place it in another room at least 15 feet away from the bowl containing the crystal. After one full day and night, fill two glasses with the water from each bowl; you will marvel at the difference in taste. What makes the difference? There is a molecular change in the water containing the crystal. The water is transformed.

Astral Azurite Spell

The great psychic and healer Edgar Cayce used this blue beauty for achieving remarkable meditative states during which he had astoundingly accurate visions and prophetic dreams. Indeed, azurite helps achieve a high state of mental clarity and powers of concentration. If you can’t find the answer to a problem in the here and now, try looking for solutions on the astral plane. Write the problem down on paper and place it under a small azurite overnight on a windowsill so it collects moonlight.

At 11:11 a.m., lie comfortably in a quiet and darkened room with the azurite stone placed over your third eye on your forehead. Clear your mind of everything for eleven minutes and meditate. Sit up and listen for the first thing that comes into your mind—it should be the answer or a message regarding the issue at hand. Write down the words you receive. The rest of the day you will be in a state of grace and higher mind during which you will hear information and answers to help guide you in many aspects of your life. If you, like me, enjoy this meditation, you may want to do it every day at 11:11 a.m. and every night at 11:11 p.m. I strongly suggest that you keep a journal of these “azurite answers.” You may receive information that you won’t understand until many years have passed, making the journal an invaluable resource and key to your very special life. 

Headdresses

It is no accident that kings, queens, and emperors wear crowns. The ancients wanted their leaders to be wise, and bejeweled crowns brought the energy of gems to bear on their brows. While you might not want to wear a tiara to the office, 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? I love it when bindis (the “dots” traditionally worn by Indian women on their foreheads) came back into vogue, because jewels on the third eye (an invisible organ of spiritual perception) stimulate intuition and compassion. Wear bindis in moderation, however, to avoid exhausting your center of intuition.

Labradorescence: Activate Your Third Eye

Labradorite is a stunning stone with a lovely iridescence. As a magpie who is attracted to shiny objects, it grabs my attention every time. It can look as dull as dirt until you give it a closer examination; then you can see the glow under the surface. When cut and polished, it is fascinating and gorgeous, with an impressive light show including yellows, oranges, blues, and violets. In fact, the special play of light and color across the surface is called labradorescence. The effect is caused by lamellar intergrowths, which were produced inside the crystal while the crystal formed during a shift of temperature from extremely high to very low. Named for the place it was first found, Labrador, this loveliest of shiny objects can also be found in India, Finland, Russia, Newfoundland, and Madagascar.

As you might guess, this bluish feldspar is a soul stone with a very powerful light energy. It abets astral travel, the higher mind, and intelligence and is a favorite of mystics.

It brings up nothing but the positive for the brain and consciousness and excises the lower energies of anxiety, stress, and negative thoughts. It is an aura cleanser and balancer. Labradorite, which used to be called spectrolite, also protects against aura leakage. This is a crystal to hold and keep with your during meditation for psychic flashes, much like the flashes of light from within the stone.

I had no idea that it is also a stone that awakens psychic powers and activates your third eye until I learned this from the great teacher Scott Cunningham. Even a small piece of this special crystal will work. Take the crystal and hold it to the center of your forehead with both hands. Speak aloud:

Artemis, Astarte, Athena, Circe—fill me with your power, 

On this day, I ask you lend me your seer’s vision.

I stand at the threshold in this holy hour.

And so it is. Great goddesses; I am grateful.

Rainbow Renewal

The rainbow is a simple and effective method for total- body wellness. Choose from this list of stones, making sure you have one of each color of the rainbow—violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red—plus one white stone and one black stone for completion. Then, simply lay the stones on their corresponding chakra centers; the rainbow should travel up your body. Red for your root chakra, orange for your sacral chakra, yellow for your solar plexus chakra, green for your heart chakra, blue for your throat chakra, indigo for your third eye chakra, and violet for your crown chakra. I’ve included a list of crystal and body affinities in case there is any specific area you want to focus on:

• Amber for the thyroid

• Benitoite for the pituitary

• Beryl for the eyes

• Bloodstone for the kidneys

• Blue tourmaline for the thymus

• Brown jasper for the shins and for the skin

• Calcite for the skeletal system 

• Carnelian for the liver

• Celestite for the intestines

• Chalcedony for the spleen

• Chrysocolla for the pancreas 

• Chrysolite for the appendix

• Chrysoprase for the prostate 

• Danburite for the muscles

• Dendrite agate for the nervous system 

• Dioptase for the lungs

• Fire agate for the stomach

• Fluorite for the teeth

• Garnet for the spine

• Hematite for the blood and circulatory system 

• Jadeite for the knees

• Lapis lazuli for the throat

• Magnetite for the joints

• Moldavite for the hands

• Moonstone for the womb area

• Orange calcite for the bladder

• Purple fluorite for the bone marrow 

• Rose quartz for the heart

• Smoky quartz for the feet