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 :)

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?

Healing Friends

I had an interesting experience the other day that I’d like to share with you. There’s been a lot of illness around me lately and I’ve seemingly been fighting off coughs and colds for months now. So in other words, I’ve been a bit run down!

I had a friend round the other day and I was feeling a bit ropey but trying not to give in. Now my friend is one of those people that has an endless energy, a warm and friendly manner and people seem to be just drawn to her like she was a real log fire on a rainy cold day! I love the fact that she just seems to emanate this energy and doesn’t have to try, but I must admit on this day I was kind of struggling to do her visit justice.

She was talking away as I flopped down on the sofa and as she chatted, she reached out for a piece of amethyst and just caressed it absentmindedly. Almost immediately I started to perk up! It wasn’t a burst of energy or anything like that, more of a sense of calm and release washing over me. I was certainly more up for a natter.

I wanted to share this with you as I was interested in effect that someone with such loving and warm energies can have, a natural healing ability. Because someone else has handled my amethyst I should now cleanse the energies and neutralise them. In fact, I have left the piece she touched by my bed!

Amethyst and drunkenness!

Amethyst

Amethyst - the perfect protective talisman. It is one of the most popular of the quartz family crystals and its beautiful, lilac colour is soothing, calm and reminiscent of psychic energies. And for those born in the month of February, this is your stone - and how well you’ve done! I’m quite jealous actually!

So, what can we practically use amethyst for? The good news is amethyst can be practically used for anything!!

Firstly, there’s where it gets its name from - the Greek amethustos meaning "not drunken". It has been used to help with drunkenness and ward off its effects, even to the point of drinking out of amethyst goblets. It was also used for another kind of spirits, although this time of the evil kind, and was said to offer protection from them.

But even if you do not believe that you’re being plagued by evil spirits (and I sincerely hope you’re not!) bear in mind that it is equally relevant to the negative thoughts in your own head. Amethyst can be a great comfort and dissipater.

These negative thoughts are bad for you, not only because they cause you distress, but because they more often than not lead onto more negative thoughts. Before you know it, the problem will spiral downwards and the problem will worsen. Not what you need.

So, this is how I use amethyst during these difficult times. Try to leave yourself at least 15 minutes as you will not be able to see the benefits in a shorter time than this.

I like to take a piece of amethyst (I use a rough piece but you can equally use a tumblestone if you have one) and place it right between my eyebrows. I then close my eyes and relax and try not to think of anything so that I am free to experience any shift in energies within me.

This is always marvellous if I have been feeling churned up and, even if I hadn’t noticed it, if my breathing has quickened with the stress. Within 5 minutes I usually can feel a lightening feeling come upon me and a positive attitude will follow. By the end of the 15 minutes (or half an hour if I can manage it) I will find that solutions or suggestions will start to enter my mind and take the place of the negativity.

If you are going through a particularly bad time, try to fit this in at least once a day if you can and you will soon find that, while amethyst can’t solve all your problems (sadly!), you will be better able to think things through rationally and face up to them in a calmer manner.