Crystals

For those of you who are more interested in detailed information on rocks, crystals, and rock people, I'll give some of the basics here. Although I work with the rocks intuitively, and have for the last 10 years (not including the rock collections growing up ;>), there are excellent books out there if you want to know a LOT more detail about the rock people. The Love is in the Earth series by Melody (no, no relation LOL) of books are handy references, as are the Crystal Enlightenment & Healing series by Katrina Raphaell.

The properties of rocks usually relate back to the chakra system when used on the body, and the color and structure tend to resonate with specific chakras. There are some very gifted empaths I know who can tell you as you're holding a rock, or a crystal, and often even spiritual statues which of your chakras specifically it is working with---opening or closing. And this may or may not be what is listed in the books because We Are All Individuals and we are each unique and different, as much as we are the same.

So let's give some quickie examples of which rocks tend to resonate with which chakra, and then below that I'll go into some specifics on what I tend to think of as three very important, basic quartz stones: clear quartz, amthyest, and citrine.

Clear quartz, amthyest, and turquoise ("pieces of sky") work well with all chakras.

Clear quartz magnifies energy (they're piezoelectric and pyroelectric, meaning the polarity of the crystal changes when subjected to heat (hands, body heat) or pressure --- when held in the hand, the crystal tip changes from positive (receiving energy) to negative (emitting energy) and these properties support amplification, focusing, transfer, storage, and transformation of energy). I work quite a bit with them during sessions, as well as garnet, amethyst, pink and smokey quartz.

Colored quartzes contain the properties of clear quartz plus additional properties of their own and are quite versitile. For example, citirine is a yellow quartz that is a self-clearing stone and it repels negative energy. (Black tourmaline also repels negative energy and so does kyanite.) Citrine also works with the 3rd chakra/solar plexus and self-esteem and self-confidence issues. AND, ancient rock lore has it that when placed in the cash register, helps bring business to merchants.

Amethyst is a lavendar to deep purple quartz that is a very protective, healing stone. When I first started "waking up," it was rocks I started bringing home. And the rocks were a natural quartz from a compressed stream bed near my home in northern Virginia.

In fact, I started sleeping with rocks then (and my ex thought I was nuts! lol)--- they are very gentle and very soothing. By the time I had turned my life upside down and moved to Virginia Beach two years later, I was sleeping with amethyst crystals on my chest. They help heal wounds, especially emotional hurts and broken hearts.

Amethyst will also help directly, if you ask it questions during meditation. Here in Colorado, when I bought a house in 2002, the energy was a little weird --- backwards even---- and that was probably because one of the previous owners had just finished chemo and recovery from cancer. So after talking with some friends, I smudged the house with sage from top to botoom (clears out negative energy), performed a Japanese house blessing someone gave me with very strong, natural incense, flower tops, and blessed water (negative energies cannot stand being around "natural" things), and cleared and protected every room and window with a specific Reiki pattern. But, even before I did all of that, I placed crystals in the house two days before closing (thanks to my realtor and her keys). The crystals were clear quartz and citrine and amethyst, and they were all in the generator configuration. Generator's come to a point on top and are six-sided. These crystals take control of all the energy in their environment and make it work together, instead of being chaotic and confused.

But, I didn't know where to put the generator crystals. So one night, I put my favorite lavender amethyst quartz in my left hand (receiving, feminine side) as I went to sleep and ask the amethyst where to put the rocks. In the morning I had the answer -- In the HEART of the house--- so then I only had to figure out where the heart of a house was. That took a little thinking, then I remembered growing up when company came and even in my own home during parties: You knew it was a successful gathering if everyone ended up in the kitchen. The kitchen is the heart of any house, so that is where I put the crystals. And by the time I arrived with the movers after closing, the energy was much better in the house, but I still performed the other rituals after the movers left.

So, did the amethyst give me the answer or my subconscious? You could argue either way, and I really don't care which it was, because the answer was the correct one and it cleared the house.
Chakra                          Example Stone
1st - Root Smokey quartz, garnet, carnelian. Dark reds, browns, and blacks.
This chakra needs strenghtened any time your survival is threatened. For example, job change, move, death, etc. Major life stressors hit this chakra hard.
2nd - Sacral / Sex Orange quartz, orange stones in general.
Relationship issues hit this chakra as well as the 3rd chakra. If it is the end of a long relationship that also has financial & support implications, then the 1st chakra is hit as well.
3rd - Solar plexus Citrine and yellow / gold stones.
Self-confidence, self-esteem, and being responsible for your own happiness. Not giving away your power to others, but recognizing you are responsible for yourself and your own happiness. Yes, relationships hit here very hard, especially when that special someone knows exactly where to put the knife then turn it. Emotional abuse also hits this very chakra hard, including "mild" forms such as constant criticism from a spouse, lover, or boss.
4th - Heart Pink quartz, jade (green). Greens and pinks in general.
Green is indicative of universal love and is a very healing color. (Most healers have a lot of green in their auras.) Pink is indicative of unconditional love, mercy, and compassion. Does anything else need said about what hurts our hearts?
5th - Throat Blue lace agate, lapis, azurite, blue stones resonate here.
All blues resonate with the 5th chakra and communication. Speaking our hearts, or not speaking. Biting our tongues. Use blue stones to help clear blocks here and speak eloquently about what's on your mind and in your heart. Don't hold it in.
6th - 3rd eye Amethyst, purple and indigo blue stones.
Purples work with your intuition and your clairvoyant vision. They also work with all 4 of your "Clair" senses: Clairvoyance (clear seeing), Clairsentenience (clear feeling), Clairaudience (clear heaing), and Claircognizance (clear knowing).

The most well known are Clairvoyance and Clairaudience. The least known and most misunderstood are Claircognizance and Clairsentience, also known as being an Empath (extreme empathy). Often, Empaths tend to carry a bit of extra weight---it is a form of protection for them from all the things they feel -- most often with the 3rd & 4th chakras.

Personally, as a child of 3-4 yrs old I shut off the Clarivoyance, and it has taken a lot of work on past issues to open it up again. Claircognizance seems to have always been with me, as has Clairsentience. Empaths often have trouble knowing what is "their" stuff versus what is other people's "stuff," especially if there is no one around to help them understand it as a child. In essence, I shut off my Clairvoyance as a child because of other peoples stuff I took on as my own.

I remember very well when my Clairaudience returned: Shortly after "waking up" spiritually, an old cat companion died. Kitty found her way back to the house from the Vet clinic about a week later and let me (and my malamute) know on more than one occasion that she was OK and feeling a lot better now. :) I also had a similar experience with a kitty that came cross country with me to Colorado. She also returned and let me (and the dog) know she was OK. On occasion, this Clair sense has also brought me other voices, for example camping near an old Indian village outside of Durham, NC after a pow-wow one night. Over coffee the next morning, I said something about the singing and drums that seemed to go on all night --- the reply I got was that everyone in our camp was in bed between 1-2 am; but that I was not the only one who had heard the ancestors nearby dancing and singing the night away. :) That morning, my companion took me down to the old village....another of our camp had hung prayer flags the day before from some of the still standing timbers.

Natural mediums use many of these abilities without even consciously realizing what they're doing. These abilities, especially Claricognizance are quite useful for real estate professionals, sales folks of all types, and gifted musicians, composers, artists, and writers. You will find many Empaths using their Clairsentience in helping professions of all kinds, especially in complementary therapy and psychotherapy fields. Many creative people in all walks have heightened Clair senses.
7th - Crown Amethyst, clear quartz, gold.
Your crown is where you connect to something greather than yourself---your Creator, your God, your Great Spirit. Whatever name you choose. Many stones can help strengthen this connection, and help you re-establish it, if you have closed it off.

Basic Quartz Configurations
Quartzes, all colors and types of quartzes, come in different configurations. The Melody books cover most configurations in detail; however, she does not cover all the configurations available. For example, she does not cover the Isis configuration and you will need to research other authors for information on it. Basically, the Isis configuration (5 sides on one face, an equilaterial triangle with a couple of smaller faces on the corner), enhances and encourages more feminine energy. This can be quite helpful for those who have spent many years in the male-dominated workforce who are now reviving and reclaiming their own feminine energies and powers.

Quartz crystals can also be programmed after you clear them. You can use them to help manifest things and suitations in your life; you can program them with Reiki energy and set up a grid to send Reiki to yourself or others 24/7, and you can use them (specific configurations) to help when working on yourself and visiting/releasing past issues or visiting/planting seeds and setting goals for the future.

There is much too much information to try and cover everything here in this short space.