Stonewise: Green Moss Agate

This week's Stonewise takes a look at Moss Agate. There are so many types of agate that to do a post just on them would take *way* to long...so we'll just start here.

Ardriana's stone book says...

Moss Agate is translucent with fern patterns and white and/or yellow spots that form miniature forest scenes. Named after the Arabian seaport, it was known to them as Mocha Stone.

Folklore: Legend held that it helped open communication with unseen spirits.

Magick: With its connection with spirits and the Fey, this stone is said to lead you to hidden treasures. Discerns the truth, accepts circumstances, balances emotions and heals the heart. Wonderful stone to increase self-esteem and wear to draw friends. Spend a few minutes identifying the mossy forms inside and understand why it is also an imagination stone.

How I use it in my jewelry...Sometimes I look at a stone for the first time and the nature of its magick is perfectly clear to me, even if it's something that no one else has said. For me, moss agate is a deep earth stone, which means deep healing. It's the center piece of my Woman's Moontime bracelet and my Healing necklace. (It's nice to see that some of my intuition can be worked into established practice...balancing emotions during a moontime can be very difficult...)

This stone fascinates me. It looks like someone took a piece of moss and suspended it in crystal even though there's no green matter in the stone at all. Some could ask if the way I use the stone would work at all, seeing as the stone isn't moss. But that's what it *looks* like, and how I feel when I see it...sympathetic magick is about honing your will to do your bidding, so forcing yourself to be aware that it's not moss when that's what it looks like is counter productive, no?

When I first started collecting stones I was all about quartz, the clearer the better. I loved the perfect piece of ice that I could roll through my fingers. The perfect black piece of obsidian. The perfect shiny blob of hematite. Moss agate was one of the first stones that taught me the beauty of imperfection. It was interesting because each piece was completely different and they were still beautiful. There's a part of me that still loves those perfect pieces...but I've widened my definition and that makes so much more beautiful to me.

And that's a little bit of why I do what I do.

Till next time, be well,

Red

Friday Wrap Up

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who's posted a response to my blog. I appreciate your feedback, and I promise to continue trying to give you interesting content. And now on to your regularly scheduled blog post...

I still feel kinda sluggish from last weekend...how sad is that? The week seemed long without me getting much done.

However, I did get the Twilight set sent on to it's new home (it should be there today or tomorrow), I miss it. ^^;

It's interesting how I reacted to this set. Usually I start with an intention, look for the stones that will be the most potent for it from my stocks, or shop if I have to, then put the design together. This time I was given colors and had to start with the stones before I could come up with the design.

To be honest, at first I had no clue what I was going to do. This wasn't a combination I had even thought about, much less toyed with. Designing in my head is a new thing for me...I've grown up with stories of people in my family designing stuff in that corridor before sleep...part of me always envied that...

In any case, I struggled with this for several days before the fateful drive up to the Sekhmet Temple and saw the colors reflected in nature. It was a powerful moment, the complete answer came to me, not just the pattern of the stones, but the magickal properties of the design. Another new experience and one I hope to repeat.

I lived with the necklace for a couple weeks before the stones I ordered to finish the set arrived, and the more I had it, the more I liked it. I've only done one other piece where the stones are set in a gradient, my Sunset Anklet, and it's not a pattern that I think of first when designing.

Anyroad...then came the earrings. I fought with those are over two hours. First I couldn't decide on the pattern. Then it adjusting the chain lengths and getting all the wire loops done...reaming the large amethysts...I was very frustrated when I was done, but then I looked at them there on my workspace...and knew the work had been worth it. I love everything I put together, but there some designs that strike me, and those earrings are one of them. I hope they (and the rest of the set) serve long and well.

For the rest...well, I do have two new designs that I will try to have photoed this week, and a bracelet commission, which I'm excited about. I do get to do a little stone shopping this weekend too, so hopefully there will be another new design or three before the next wrap up post *crosses fingers*.

I hope you all have a fantastic Friday the 13th, and an even better weekend.

Till next time, be well,

Red

Stonewise: Carnelian

Today's Stonewise looks at Carnelian. This stone is quietly powerful in many ways and is a must have for any stone witch's collection.

First we look at some information from Ardriana Cahill's book of stones:

Carnelian is a red chalcedony colored by iron oxides. It is placed in the sun to change brown tints to red. The best carnelians is found in India.

Folklore: Carnelian gets its name from the Latin word carne, meaning flesh. Napoleon, while in Egypt, discovered the magick of the stone. Also called the Mecca stone, it was sacred to Moslems as Mohammed wore an engraved carnelian ring as a charm for a blessed afterlife.

Magick: The carnelian is the stone of the orator, promoting articulation, clarity of thought and eloquence (the ancient Greeks thought that if you could articulate clearly over the crash of the ocean with one under your tongue, you would be muse touched with eloquence). Increases courage, especially in the overly shy. Helps focus decision making. Used for carnal passions, sexuality, earthiness and the material world.

How I use it in my jewelry: Once I read about placing a carnelian under the tongue to promote eloquence, it has become one of the creativity stones for me. It's a central component to my Creativity bracelet.

Carnelians work with citrines and gold tiger's eye to promote creativity.

I love the glassy texture of the stone. There's always a translucence to it, even if you can't see through it. Orange is not one of my favorite colors, but I love the rich, vibrant color of the stone.

One year, while visiting The New Pioneer, the owner took a 20lb bag of tumbled carnelian pebbles and set it in front of me saying, "Go ahead and look through there." I could hardly believe my luck! First thing I did was stick both hands into the bag and just feel the energy of all those stones. I probably spent a half an hour picking out 20 or so pieces. I keep these in a box on my desk to help give me eloquence in my writing. Every once in a while I put them on a windowsill so they can soak up the light.

I can't say that it's one of my very favorites, but somehow I have a lot of them. Probably in the top 10 for most stones owned (the box full helped with that ^^). I think it's interesting that even though I don't have a special connection with the stone, it's so prevalent in my collection...seems that one or two always end up in my tray when I'm over at the Pioneer. Carnelian is powerful magickally for me as well, because of all the folklore behind it...people have been using this stone for thousands of years and the weight of that history is noticeable.

And now you know a little bit more of why I do what I do.

Till next time, be well,

Red

Pagan Pride Day '09

It started with sleeplessness and nerves.

I worked over at Damned Ink Studios for First Friday, which is always fast paced and high strung for me. Lots of people, lots of emotions...it's a stimuli overload which leads to what we affectionately call, "First Friday Hangover"...but I didn't have the luxury of sleeping in and grogging through my day...I had Pagan Pride Day to go to.

I'd stayed up *way* to long working on last minute things that probably weren't all that important, but this was my first time having a booth and I was over thinking things. I woke before my alarm, and did my best to suppress my nerves while I loaded the truck.

The first highlight for me was getting to go with Ardriana. She's one of my best friends, and spending the day together, outside, in the presence of kindred was exciting. Plus, she helped me set up, and it went much faster and easier than I had thought. Took about 30 minutes, and we had a booth!

Not bad for a first time!

The table is a replica of a Civil War Confederate officer's mess table, made by my Father. The structure for the table and the two benches all break down and fit into the box, which becomes the table top. Nifty, huh? Add a sun shade, some Celtic throws, a few of my personal collection pieces for decoration, and I was pleased with how the booth turned out.

Close up of the bracelets and anklets.

Earring rack, with me in the background.

Finished Twilight Set...be jealous.

After I cooled off and changed into some garb, I settled in and got some supplies out to work with. It was a gorgeous day, and I really enjoyed people watching while I made a pair of earrings, cleaned and retrofit an older bracelet and put together a new design.

There was great music all day, dancing and a general air of enjoyment and belonging. I got to talk to people all day about magick and stones and my love for my craft...how awesome is that? And then, just when I thought it couldn't get any cooler...I got to meet my best Twitter friend the funny, smart and wise Dame Vegas! I wish I could have listened to her lecture on the History of Wicca...maybe next time.

It was interesting to see how many people hadn't even heard about stone magick, much less know anything about it. Apparently I have a niche, and I look forward to showing the community the beauty, elegance and power that are inherent in stones and what they can do to help you in your magickal endeavors.

I saw some of the lovely women from my Women of Sekhmet weekend, which was a blessing, and saw some of my friends, pagan and non, always a bonus. I did *not* win any of the tattoo gift certificates...which I call shenanigans on...but I can't be to disappointed as I had to much fun during the day.

It ended with an amazing sunset, hugs and lots of laughter. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Till then, be well,

Red

Stonewise: Ametrine

Sorry that this is so late, busy week...but better late than never, huh?

Anyroad, today's Stonewise feature will be talking today about Ametrine, a stone I only learned about maybe six years ago.

As always, I'll start with some basic info from Ardriana Cahill:

Two varieties of quartz growing side by side. Amethyst's purple and Citrine's amber are complimentary opposites on a color wheel and can be found often in nature. Look deeply into a purple Iris and you will find that yellow is at the petal's base.

As a new-comer, Ametrine doesn't have the magickal significance as do Amethyst and Citrine independently. We can assume that the best lore of both stones can be attributed to Ametrine however. Citrine has the qualities of any sun stone, it promotes mental clarity, memory, creativity, intuition and wealth. It strengthens one's sel-esteem and personal power, but with the balancing influence of Amethyst, that can be tempered so that self-esteem isn't inflated into egotism, nor personal power turned into domination.

Likewise, the fiery influenses of the Citrine will temper Amethyst's tendency to inertia and bring strength to the serenity that it yields. While Amethyst eases emotional doubts, Citrine will replace them with clear thinking.

Why I love this stone: What's not to love? The magick in Ametrine is apparent when you pick it up. There's something special about having a gem that is two stones grown naturally together. Yellow is one of my least favorite colors, but Ametrine is one of my favorites because of the color combination.

Here's one of the ways I interpret the stone: Citrine is a success stone, and Amethyst guards dreams or promotes psychic dreaming...so give an Ametrine to someone when you wish, "May all your dreams come true." I have yet to incorporate this idea fully into my jewelry, but I'll get there.

Ametrine plays a central role in my new Wealth bracelet design because of its balancing properties. One of the common mistakes in any wealth spell is the omission of the desire to earn the money instead of just receiving it. No one really wants to discover a relative just died so you can have some money. So my Wealth design features Ametrine so that the wearer can discover how to earn money. It will help you have the foresight to make good decisions and help put you in the way of opportunity.

Ametrine is already hard to come by in shops that sell tumbled stones, so I don't have a lot of it. I do, however, still buy whatever I can find, since it's such an unusual stone, and everyone loves it. It is probably in my top 10 for pieces owned, but I don't have any larger pieces...yet.

And that's a little bit about why I do what I do.

Till next time, be well,

Red

Friday Wrap Up

Is it Friday already? Eesh it was a short week for me, I got to spend the weekend in San Francisco for my brother's wedding and didn't get home till Monday night. The wedding was held in Golden Gate Park, which is just amazing. Everything's so green and gorgeous, I could spend days there and never be bored.

So I spent most of my time working on networking...it's a hefty job, and I still don't think I've got a handle on it. But I figure if I do a little bit every day, I'll eventually figure it out. I also got my shipment of bells in finally, so I can make some more anklets! Plus I'm going to try and make a set of prayer beads this weekend...we'll see how that goes.

In any case, I hope you have a fantastic weekend, and a wonderful Samhain...and I'll see you in the new year.

Till next time, be well,

Red

Stonewise: Bloodstone

In honor of Samhain, this week's Stonewise segment is dedicated to Bloodstone, which is often called The Witches Stone.

So first is a little information from my book of stones by Witch and writer Ardriana Cahill:

The name Bloodstone has been given to every red mineral at one time or another including garnet, ruby, hematite and carnelian. Now commonly applied to Green Jasper with flecks of iron oxide on it.

Folklore: This stone was once called Heliotrope and was prized in ancient days for the belief that when the last dragon was slain, the green stone was stained with the last droplets of his magickal blood. The myth was later Christianized to be the blood of Christ, thus it is called the Martyr's Stone.

Magick: Wear the "dragon" stone for longevity, physical strength and courage. Heals matters of the heart and bloodstream. The ancients used it for invisibility (today for lowering one's profile).

How I use it in my jewelry...Bloodstone has a lot of raw magickal power for me, being steeped in such lore and imagery. I use it in my Woman's Moontime pieces, to help make things easier, as it a powerful healing stone. It also is included in just about every general healing piece I make.

When I was first putting pieces together, I would look through my bags of beads and sometimes a pattern would form without me really knowing what it was. That's what happened when I put a large onyx bead with a pair of bloodstones...

I made the piece and set it aside, figuring that whatever it was, the answer would come in time. Eventually I went through all the bracelets I made, pairing them up with members of my family and came to this piece. I considered for a minute, and thought perhaps it was a protection piece. I started to set it aside and was told that she was not Protection. I asked her what she was (the voice was clearly feminine and not my own...) and was told that she was Awakening.

Uh...ok...then I thought about it, the original design had a large onyx round center piece, like the dark moon, and the bloodstones...witches stones...use this piece to help awaken yourself to the possibilities of magick. I liked it! The spell within the piece is more subtle, and it makes the wearer think about it, which I think serves the purpose too.

I love bloodstone, and even though I don't have any really large pieces, the ones I do have seem to stand out, even among others in a box, as special. This powerful stone is a deep beautiful shade of green (my favorite color) and goes well with lots of other stones. I'm always on the lookout for pretty pieces and hungrily add them to my collection...I am a witch after all.

And now you know a little bit more of why I do what I do.

Till next time, be well,

Red