Engraved gemstones

Much as I love working with gemstones and crystals I don't think I could go as far as to create some of the beautiful artworks that they crafted in ancient times. If you are not aware of what these people were capable of, take a look at the Wikipedia page here and be amazed!

There is something so delicate about an image carved into a semi-precious crystal and it makes me think of how you could enhance the energies, from a personal point of view, by carving something that's meaningful to you if one had the ability. Sadly I don't, but I really am in awe of anyone who could do this.

(Image from Wikipedia - portrait of Caracalla in amethyst)

Summer gemstone - amethyst

I don't know about you but I am very affected by the seasons and like to try to accomodate them in my use of crystals and gemstones. Seeing as it is the first day of summer tomorrow, then what should we be bringing out and placing at the centre of our gemstones work?

For me, the summer crystal is amethyst. It's so calm and peaceful that it perfectly reflects the stillness of warmer days. It also has that beautiful depth of colour that seems to fill our hearts will joy when we have become used to grey and gloom all winter.


So for a breath of fresh, summer air, I recommend amethyst to you. It doesn't matter whether you go for a massive piece that takes over the room, a few scattered tumblestones around the house or even some pretty amethyst jewellry. Just be sure to embrace the change of the season :)

Aries Birthstone/Gemstone

Ok, if you are Aries and wanting to carry your personal birthstone around with you then you're in luck - it's the diamond!! Well done, you did well there ;)

But what if you can't quite reach to that? There are some other alternative Aries gemstones and you needn't worry, they're beautiful too.

Bloodstone: The bloodstone is one of bonds and friendships and so this should come as no surprise to someone who is close to someone who's Aries. They are fiercely loyal and protect their own at all costs. You can show them how much you value this by presenting them with this little gift.

Jasper: The Aries is adventurous and likes to constantly try new things. So a great representation of this is yellow jasper to aid them travel with ease!

And if it's your birthday this coming astrological cycle, hope you have a good one :)

Nephrite Jade

I have a friend who's a tarot reader and I've been trying to explore my psychic side a lot more recently so that I can try to tap into my inner wisdom. I may be a bit optimistic that I actually have any! But she told me that there were links between tarot cards and crystals and gemstones. Needless to say I was very excited by this!

So I though I would look at nephrite jade first as this is tied in with one of my favourite major arcana card, the Empress. It's such a lovely card of affection, bonds, protection and love. So I can totally understand why nephrite jade is associated with this card as it basically seems to personify the gemstone perfectly!

Whenever I feel I need a bit of a pick me up in the emotional sense, actually nephrite jade is one of the crystals that I will turn to. It has the comforting feeling and makes me feel comfortable in my own skin somehow. So for a bit of gentle love, I recommend it!

Now THAT'S what I call a piece of Tanzanite!!!

Wow! That's all I can say to this - the discovery of the 3rd largest tanzanite gemstone in the world! I think that would look lovely in my living room ;)

Pisces Birthstone/Gemstone

We are in the month of Pisces right now and I was actually reminded of this the other day when I was talking about how good cold weather crystals were amethyst and turquoise - two of the Pisces gemstones!

So I thought I would do more on this as Pisces does happen to be one of my favourite starsigns. It's a water sign and therefore in possession of some of the qualities that I can relate to! Those born under Pisces tend to go with the flow and are easy to work with, preferring compromise and communication to power battles and arguments. Pisces also tends to have a great sense of humour and this is something I have found in every one that I have met so can vouch for that :)

Pisces has a number of birthstones. The first I will focus on is amethyst. If you know anything of the qualities of amethyst you will know how beautifully they fit with those of Pisces. Amethyst is calm and soothing and can definitely be described as a gemstone of "flow". If anyone was to bring out the right energies for this crystal, it will the be Piscean.

As you are also no doubt aware the symbol for Pisces is one of two fish and this calming yet deep personality is in evidence almost immediately. So could there be a more apt crystal than aquamarine? I could gaze into the rich, sharp colour of this stone all day!

And as mentioned above, turquoise is another Pisces birthstone. Like the sea, this crystal can come in many shades of blues and greens. It brings a sense of harmony and balance as well as proving loving protection.

So now you know what to get for any Pisceans you know!

Gemstones for the cold weather

Now, obviously crystals and gemstones can't change the weather and make it warmer! But there are actually a couple of gemstones that I do turn to when the weather bites, as it has been lately. They would be turquoise and amethyst. Why? I'll tell you!

There is something about freezing coldweather that drains us of energy in general. We tend to go into a mini hibernation mode and it's hard to be productive at such a time. So I tend to turn to 2, what I call, sturdy crystals to try and help me address this from the inside when my outside wants to curl up in a ball and drink hot chocolate. Turquoise and amethyst both help me as they balancing crystals, they help to stop me focusing on just one aspect - be it that I'm cold, that it's dark outside or that I don't want to be active in any way. Often I use crytals to help me focus but in this instance I'm strangely using them to stop me focusing and widening my viewpoint once again.

Roll on the spring eh?