6

Healing
Crystals
&
Power Stones

Crystals can help serve as spiritual power tools to teach us how to bring the mind to a greater sense of peace, the body into a more stable, grounded state, and the spirit into connection with the infinite from which springs all creation. Gemstones can remind us of a higher truth and keep us centered in that light.

When we become aware of the qualities of beauty, frequency, and color and their possible uses, stone “medicine” may help us explore what our current needs are and how we may transform certain situations by using a stone as a meditative focus and an inspirational power source. Gems and minerals have patterns and pictures on their surfaces that can transport us to another world, igniting our imagination. They are very tactile and soothing to touch and hold.

The idea of healing with crystals was first popularized in the 1930s when the famous American trance psychic Edgar Cayce claimed that his visions revealed that in the time of Atlantis crystals were used as a source of energy. He even described a crystal capstone on a centrally located pyramid that could power airships. He also mentioned specific stones when prescribing healing protocols for the people he read for.

According to crystal researcher Marcel Vogel, a senior scientist with IBM for twenty- seven years, “The crystal is a neutral object whose inner structure exhibits a state of perfection and balance. . . . Like a laser, it radiates energy in a coherent, highly concentrated form, and this energy may be transmitted into objects or people at will. With proper training, a healer using a crystal can release negative thought forms which have taken shape as disease patterns.”

A gemstone or even just a stone becomes a meditative amplifier that can help to transform situations. Stones can keep us centered and reminded of a higher truth. By looking to the mineral kingdom for assistance in the healing process, we are connecting to tools that enable us to look deeper within in order to obtain an understanding of the cause of the distress that is creating disease. Distress can be caused by negative beliefs, by environmental factors, or by interactions with other people, which can sometimes create havoc in our energy field. When we consume alcohol or drugs, we can also affect our energy fields and cause a disruption in our vibrations.

Always remember that crystal healing should be used in conjunction with—and not as a substitute for—conventional medicine. There are many factors that contribute to well- being. Illnesses need to be tended to by a trusted physician. However, stress and distress can also have a profound effect on heath. All thoughts and actions have consequences, creating harmony or disharmony. Disharmony can cause illness. Working with ritual and with healing rocks and crystals can help you to create harmony, handle your stress, and feel better.

Your healing stones offer a beautiful stability and can help you focus on your strengths so that you can use them to compensate for your weaknesses. When we use crystals or stones as healing tools, they have the ability to rebalance a disruptive vibration so that we can be aware of the reason behind the distress.

Below we describe the nature and special healing message of crystals for each sign of the zodiac. We have gathered the information for these astrological associations through working with them for many years, and we suggest the perfect power stone for each sign.

ARIES: GARNET

The garnet takes its name from the resemblance of its deep red color to that of the pomegranate. It can help bring success in things you passionately believe in and, if appropriate, can flame the sparks of sexual energy. It may also be useful when wisdom and balance are needed in this most important exchange of energies. If this is so, look within to see if true love, tenderness, and genuine respect and caring are part of your romantic passion.

Garnet can help bring balance and self- awareness and destroy flightiness, leaving in its place love, romance, and sometimes lustiness, for those who need it.

Because of its rich color and association with the root chakra, the garnet suggests a powerful influence for sensuality and sexuality. It may help put you in touch with your animal instincts, enabling you to act and react with pure body wisdom. Therapists who recognize the power of gemstones use the garnet in counseling couples whose sexual chemistry has begun to wane.

For meditation and ritual purposes, the garnet is used primarily as a power stone to enhance self- confidence and to help manifest personal and career goals. Garnet has properties useful for giving inspiration during times of confusion. The red garnet is a stone of profound love and helps to ensure fidelity in relationships. It is a stone of patience and persistence and is also emblematic of spiritual awareness and compassion.

Garnet is highly versatile—it encourages the wearer to search for answers—and the answers that come as a result of this search will be helpful and important ones. Worn on a regular basis, the stone is believed to boost energy and stimulate romantic love.

Garnet’s message: Because it has a bold energy, the garnet makes a perfect amulet for someone whose confidence or self- esteem needs bolstering. Because of its warm vibrations, it makes a good meditation stone for security and intimacy.

Other good gemstones for Aries are bloodstone, red jasper, and pyrite.

TAURUS: ROSE QUARTZ

Rose quartz is the stone that can help heal the heart, because it works on an emotional level. It can help you to become more aware of the love that is all around you and can assist you in getting in touch with your emotions. Rose quartz teaches us to love ourselves more, thus opening us up to a greater universal love. When we don’t love ourselves fully, we are wounded inside, and a wound will always cry out to be healed. Rose quartz heals emotional wounds by giving compassion and comfort. It can be used to help overcome grief.

Rose quartz’s properties include inner peace, tranquility, and all matters dealing with giving and receiving affection.

Unlike the hard- edged, pointed crystals of clear quartz, the lovely rose quartz is found in great veins running through Mother Earth like her life’s blood. Use it when compassion and generosity need to be shown or when healing and forgiveness are needed. Rose quartz may help those who have suffered through trauma and the pain of an unhappy childhood. If this is true for you, start by forgiving yourself and others. Be gentle with yourself and others; we have all suffered wounds. From forgiveness can come a path to true healing.

You can also sleep with rose quartz next to you on a bedside table. The pain of a difficult past problem may come up in dreams, but you can better handle it if you affirm before you go to sleep that you are ready to forgive yourself and others and to release all pain from past events.

Rose quartz’s message: Self- fulfillment and inner peace require you to love and nurture yourself and those you care about. Work on how to give love as well as how to receive it. Remember to forgive.

Other good gemstones for Taurus are emerald, malachite, and selenite.

GEMINI: AGATE

Agate is a general protector of the entire body and the entire auric field. Agate can help us to focus on growth and healing. It attracts strength and vitality, and it has the ability to help bring the body into balance. A special property of agate is the blending and balancing of energies for power, protection, and organizational qualities, causing a stabilizing effect. Agate also can help reinforce the body’s connection to the earth. It can give courage and dispel fears, all of which increase self- confidence. It gives us the strength to carry on, even when we feel weak or tired.

Agate offers protection from bad dreams. It also protects us from stress and worry. Agates with banded colors placed at the head of a sleeper are said to give rich and varied dreams.

Since our earliest civilizations, agates have been prized gems. They were used in jewelry and as spiritual power tools in Babylonia. Conjurers in Persia used the crystal to try to affect the weather. In ancient Asia, agates were used to see the future. Studying the circular patterns helped open the pathway to receive guidance and messages by connecting the pathways between the conscious and subconscious minds.

Agate can also be enlisted for emotional healing, especially to resolve bitterness and resentments. It is believed to be a stone of harmony and, therefore, can help soften feelings of envy by dissipating agitation. By bringing the elements of one’s being into harmony, it can improve how one functions in relationships. Agate also enhances creativity and stimulates the intellect. Carry a pocket- size piece of agate when you have to make an important decision.

Agate’s message: Placing an agate on a bedside table may aid with insomnia and can stimulate pleasant dreams. If you have to deal with numbers, an agate placed on your desk will help you be more precise. You’ll also be more analytical as well as creative in your approach to situations.

Other good gemstones for Gemini are clear quartz, tiger’s eye, and bi- colored tourmaline.

CANCER: CARNELIAN

Carnelian grounds energy and helps us to pay attention to the present moment, thus teaching us to focus and manifest our personal power. Use it to encourage strength and the courage to prevail. Carnelian helps to ease stress and anxiety and to improve memory.

Use carnelian when barriers of time and space or discouraging news threaten to stop you on your path. If this is true for you now, it is necessary for you to look below the surface of things in order for you to know what is really going on, for things are usually not what they seem. There is no reason to give up unless and until you know exactly how things stand. Once you know, carnelian can help you regain your courage.

Carry carnelian with you to guard against those who try to use their power over you. It can also help you regain the drive you need to pursue your goals or help to give birth to a new project or flesh out an existing one. Believed to prevent depression, carnelian helps to build courage by providing self- esteem and an optimistic outlook.

Carnelian stimulates energy, physical power, and courage and helps to ground you on the physical plane.

Early Egyptians used carnelian for amulets, as it was thought to protect the wearer from evil and to prevent anger and envy. Renaissance mystics kept carnelian amulets in their homes as protection against curses.

Carnelian’s message: It offers patience while counteracting doubt and negative thoughts. It also assists in decision- making by helping us ground ourselves in the present and make decisions based not on our past but on our present reality.

Other good gemstones for Cancer are kunzite, ammonite, and moonstone.

LEO: CITRINE

The citrine’s sunny color helps restore the mind in much the same way that basking in the life- giving light of the Sun does. Citrine helps us maintain a positive outlook on life. It removes blocks and fears on all levels and helps us to better communicate with others. Citrine helps create a sense of stability, adds energy and emotional balance, and provides a rational approach to things, grounding us in the here and now.

Citrine’s energy means that a positive, optimistic attitude will produce a positive outcome. Use it when great self- confidence and self- esteem are needed. Stress and fatigue, either emotional or physical, can make life seem bleak and can make you unable to cope with challenges. Make sure to get enough rest and have some fun. Citrine can help you regain your emotional balance. We all stray from our path. How long it takes us to recover is what determines our successes and failures.

Citrine is one of the best stones for manifesting power on both a practical and a magical level. Because it encourages a healthy ego, self- esteem, and feelings of worth, it empowers its wearer both emotionally and spiritually. Many healers who use crystals in their practice believe that the stone can increase the significance of dreams and open the mind to new and more positive thought forms. Due to its color, it is believed to strengthen the urinary and endocrine systems.

Citrine is known to clean toxic impurities in the air and aura. On the metaphyscial level, it is thought to boost willpower, happiness, and confidence while reducing self- destructive tendencies. As a result, it can also bring good fortune, often in surprising ways.

Citrine’s message: Some therapists believe that people who are have lost a sense of their individual identity because of an unhappy or abusive relationship can reclaim much of their personal power by regularly meditating with citrine.

Other good gemstones for Leo are amber, topaz, and jasper.

VIRGO: JADE

This stone acts in a protective way, on both the physical and spiritual levels. Jade has long been believed to facilitate and fortify a long and peaceful life. The Chinese have traditionally held jade in very high esteem, and it has a lovely history as a protective talisman that can alleviate the worry and anxiety that Virgo is prone to.

Amulets of animals were carved from jade to promote a healthier life and attract spiritual protection when needed. Jade was also used in rituals to attract wealth and fortune. Jade statues for abundance and protection were common. Dishes were often carved from jade. The gem was also believed to facilitate longevity, and therefore, food or drink in jade vessels would absorb that energy.

Jade energy bestows peace, calmness, harmony, tranquility, and mental clarity and encourages the safe expression of true feelings and emotions. It strongly influences matters of the heart and can help to improve relationships. Jade is wonderful for repairing relationship connections and ties that have been lost or broken.

Jade inspires and promotes creative thought. This stone also promotes a more unified environment so you may use it to develop the ability to compromise with partners, family members, or coworkers.

In business matters, you can use jade to unite individuals with differing—
and sometimes conflicting—agendas and get them working toward common goals. It aids in creating a harmonious atmosphere and a desire for success and abundance without materialism or greed.

Jade is also favored for strengthening clear reasoning and, in so doing, stimulating excellent decision- making. Because it has a balancing effect, jade motivates wearers to believe that their plans and ambitions are worthy of success.

Jade’s message: This is a helpful stone for those who have a nervous temperament or who are easily overwhelmed. The loving energies of this stone will assist you in recovering from emotional trauma because it provides grounding energy and a sense of security.

Other good gemstones for Virgo are amazonite, sapphire, and zircon.

LIBRA: TURQUOISE

One of the most ancient protection stones, turquoise has long been used in sacred rituals associated with sky energy because of its color and because it also brings sky energy down to earth. Prized in Asian as well as Native American cultures, it is known as a multipurpose stone, excellent for promoting a sense of self- awareness and the ability to communicate honestly and from the heart. The stone encourages creative thinking—as many do—but turquoise has the power to help channel that creative energy in a productive and useful way that benefits the user and the community as a whole.

Turquoise is considered a lucky stone; it facilitates the attraction of abundance and prosperity. Turquoise has a balancing influence that assists decision- making. Its properties include inducing mental relaxation, stress reduction, confidence, attunement, and physical well- being.

The blue- green turquoise is a stone sacred to many cultures around the world. Use it when you feel the need to call on your spirit guides because you have reached an important time in your life or you are at a crossroads. Turquoise is helpful when you need to restore communication with your Higher Self, and it stimulates your development on the spiritual level. If this is true for you now, it is time to take action to restore your faith. Life often appears meaningless when our faith in the unseen forces that surround and sustain us is weak.

Turquoise can help us not to be distracted by our sorrows. It can help restore our sense of humor so we can enjoy life’s gifts as well as its challenges, for we cannot have one without the other. Miracles can be seen every day. Turquoise is a favorite stone among metaphysical healers, who believe that it has the power to energize the body and spirit as well as to balance right brain–left brain disparity.

Turquoise’s message: True communication is about more than words, and turquoise can help achieve this. Carrying a piece of turquoise will help keep you centered, and wearing it improves all the senses, including the sixth sense.

Other good gemstones for Libra are diamond, blue topaz, and lepidolite.

SCORPIO: OBSIDIAN

Obsidian is a stone of protection that prevents you from becoming emotionally drained by others. It can work as a shield against unwanted vibrations and help protect you from physical or emotional harm. Native Americans keep this stone on them as protection against negative energies or psychic attack.

Obsidian tends to give emotional stability in times of high stress, in part by preventing energy from draining out of the body. The energy to help with grounding is the strongest attribute of this stone. Keeping obsidian with you helps prevent negative thought patterns and can also be used for space clearing because it is known to remove vibrations of unhelpful or distracting entities.

Obsidian is an excellent crystal- gazing tool. Some practitioners have better success peering into obsidian’s black depths to reach their subconscious messages than into a traditional clear quartz crystal ball.

The black glasslike obsidian is forged in the fires of volcanoes, Mother Earth’s way of clearing away the old to make way for the new. It helps with transitions, so use it when you realize that the old must be completely released before the new can enter your life. It may also be useful when obsessions and negative thoughts and actions are blocking you. If this is happening to you, try to let every negative thought and action you encounter in yourself or in others remind you to think and act positively.

This gemstone may help you recover forgotten abilities within yourself. Obsidian can help you to become more aware of your true place in the universe by sharpening your inner vision. It will also help you become more aware of your imperfections and at the same time provide constructive solutions and insights.

Obsidian’s message: Do not give in to the desire to think and act negatively even if others do. This is a difficult but most- powerful teaching. Our negativity comes back in unpleasant ways. Obsidian may help you cope with negativity and keep you centered in unstable times. Do not resist change.

Other good gemstones for Scorpio are onyx, ruby, and black opal.

SAGITTARIUS: AMETHYST

The amethyst’s purple color, the color of pure spirit and the seemingly magical things connected with it, is rare in nature. Use it when you need approval from the universe or when peace and calm are needed. If this is so, try this basic meditation: Take a few moments to breathe calmly and focus your attention on your breathing. Let all thoughts drift away like clouds. After a while you may sense the small voice of your Higher Self. Be aware of the natural fear of not being in control or not knowing exactly what to do next on your path. Amethyst can help you trust yourself and “let go and let God/Goddess.” Holding an amethyst may help ease the pain and sorrow of a loss or defeat.

Easily recognizable for its beautiful color, this stone is known to promote personal serenity and feelings of peace. Amethyst derives its reputation as a healing stone from ancient and medieval times when it was used as an amulet against drunkenness. The amethyst is a power stone on many levels and holds the intention to heal the body as well as the spirit. The amethyst has long been used to open people’s psychic centers.

In folklore, this stone is believed to have a soothing and relaxing effect. Holistic healers sometimes use amethyst to ease toothache and bruising. It calms an overactive mind and brings a sense of tranquility to those who are frazzled by overwork. It is used as a dream stone and to help insomnia. For those who are psychically sensitive, it can improve the ability of second sight. As an amulet, it can be a talisman, worn to protect against jealousy, envy, and deception.

Amethyst’s message: Amethyst is believed to be helpful in the treatment of insomnia. By putting an amethyst under the pillow, a troubled sleeper should experience better REM sleep, with less chance of fitful slumber.

Other good gemstones for Sagittarius are sodalite, sugilite, and tanzanite.

CAPRICORN: AMBER

Amber is the oldest geological specimen to be used in jewelry. Archeologists digging primitive sites near the Baltic Sea have found evidence of amber jewelry that is approximately forty thousand years old.

This good-luck stone brings together the purifying, revitalizing force of the Sun and the absorptive, transmuting energy of the planet we walk on to create a powerful metaphysical tool. In mythology, Apollo cried amber tears after being banished from Olympus. Medieval housewives would burn amber to bring good energy into their homes. Native American tribal healers used it in fire ceremonies.

Ancient Greeks discovered that if they rubbed a piece of amber vigorously, it became electrically charged. The early name for amber was electron, which is the root word for today’s electricity. Amber’s use as a treasured spiritual power tool reaches back to humans’ earliest history.

Amber absorbs negative energy, helps to ground one to the earth plane, and protects the sensitive person. It helps to distribute vitality to our aura, and it centers people during meditation. Amber can be worn or carried to help calm the nerves. Amber allows people to receive from the universe, yet assists them to remain physically alert.

Amber is not technically a crystal but is an organic compound. Some 360 million years ago, extinct pine trees oozed thick, sticky resins. As these resins flowed, a variety of living and decomposing matter became trapped inside. Then the resin fossilized under the great pressure from the earth’s changes. Many ancient traditions associate amber with the universal life force because, essentially, actual life has been trapped inside.

Amber’s message: Amber is excellent at removing self- imposed obstacles to any projects. It enhances a constructive way of behaving, fueled by self- confidence. It can attract new friendships and aid in focusing your intentions for manifestation, helping you to reach your goals.

Other good gemstones for Capricorn are jet, smoky quartz, and chrysoprase.

AQUARIUS: LAPIS LAZULI

Mother Nature seems to have used the deep blue lapis lazuli to capture the sky in solid form. The glittering pyrite inclusions against the deep blue backdrop of this splendid stone create a striking likeness of a galaxy. Lapis is an excellent stone to help with peaceful sleep and psychic dreaming. It can bring matters more clearly to the mind. The stone will allow for cosmic communication with other dimensions of reality. Sleeping with this gemstone on a night table next to your bed can help you see the meaning in your dreams more clearly by allowing you to interpret and understand the messages or information that your subconscious is providing.

Use lapis to help with success in business and other worldly pursuits that benefit large portions of humanity. It is good to use for humanitarian quests and interests as it has far- reaching effects. Early cultures valued lapis more than gold. In Egypt it was customary to bury a lapis scarab with the dead, as it was believed to offer protection. It is also believed to enhance higher love, powers of intelligence, and concentrated intention.

Lapis can help you focus on the cooperation of universal brotherhood and sisterhood to produce abundance. Some other properties of lapis are illumination, wisdom, mental insight, and clarity of thought. It may also help when systems of information exchange, transportation, and communication are blocked. Lapis can help you to communicate your deeply felt beliefs and put them into practice in the outer world. It can help shy, introverted people express themselves. Expressing your true self can free energies you would otherwise waste repressing. Lapis helps to release old, buried emotions, thereby helping to dispel depression.

Lapis lazuli’s message: Meditate with lapis when you need all methods of moving people, services, and facts to be as direct and simple as possible. Use it when you need a higher perspective on your situation. When blocked channels are cleared by lapis, expect energies to be a bit chaotic initially, before they calm down.

Other good gemstones for Aquarius are fluorite, azurite, and labradorite.

PISCES: OPAL

The opal owes its fiery beauty to the refractions of tiny imperfections and water trapped within its crystalline cells. The dance of color in opal is the result of light being radiated by microscopic silica spheres. Watching the colors flash when luminous sparkles flicker within an opal gemstone leaves you with little doubt that this is a beautiful and powerful crystal.

An opal may bring you enlightenment, integrity, or even the fires of romance. It enhances the emotions and amplifies personal traits. Opal can assist you with almost any aspect of your life, such as joy, love, or success. Let your opal fire up your heart’s desire and make your wishes come true. Opal helps magnetize opportunities for things to happen in exciting new ways. Use opal to call in good luck and good fortune, to initiate prosperity consciousness, and to encourage new ideas.

Opal acts as a magnet by helping to illuminate your interests and ability to see great possibilities. It encourages you to dance your life by amplifying your emotions and heightening your experiences.

There are two main opal categories, common and precious. Precious opals are those with the famous rainbow sparkles. Common opals are stones without fire.

If you are bored or in a rut, either type of opal can spark a flame of passion and ignite your imagination, helping you see solutions to mundane problems. It turns up the power in everything.

Adding this gemstone to any prayer, ritual, or creative work will strengthen your intention and affirmation. Shamans use opals in important ceremonies such as vision quests. For divination and oracle use, you may want to wear or hold an opal. It will enhance your attunement to the messages of the tarot or other divination readings.

Opal’s message: It magnifies your thoughts and feelings and promotes all intuitive abilities. In ancient times the opal was thought to be a very powerful healing stone and was believed to open up the senses of the third eye. The opal can be a doorway to your spiritual awareness.

Other good gemstones for Pisces are aquamarine, coral, and pearl.