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