Crystals to Enhance June’s Retrospective Perspective

Calcite adds focus and balance to the
Mercury Retrograde mind

Mercury entered retrograde last Saturday and Neptune followed suit on June 9th.  Chiron also goes retrograde in Pisces on June 20th.  See blog: “Astrological Trends for June, 2014 ”  for more details. June is a month of dreams, dreamers and spiritual connection – with lots of intuitive energy layered in for subtext.  With so much high vibrational energy streaming through our crown chakra and third eye it’s important to keep those areas clear and balanced during June’s retro triple header (don’t forget Pluto is also in retrograde). Using specific crystals to ground our energy enhances the gifts (yes, I said gifts) from this month’s retrogrades. Working with various crystals during meditations or by carrying them with you will clear your higher mind and lighten your heart.

Mercury’s quick mind becomes calmer and gains focus by using calcite – a particularly useful tool during retrograde.  This stone comes in a variety of colors (blue, yellow, orange, pink and red) and is said to increase memory, rekindle our motivation and assist us in sorting through information uploaded to our senses. Calcite sharpens our perceptions and helps decide what information is worth acting upon and what we should ignore. Calcite carries a strong, stabilizing vibration that induces serenity. It’s a great stone for meditation.

Celestite is a high vibrational stone linked to Divine energy. 

Rainbow Moonstone shown here in a variety
of jewelry heightens intuition and empathy

Though not an uncommon crystal, it is fairly expensive.  Celestite comes in various colors (blue, red, yellow and white) and reportedly lifts the vibration level of the area surrounding it, as well as the vibration of the person who carries it. This stone assists in out of the body journeys such as astral travel, or meditations involving other realms. It also boosts clairvoyance and dream recall. Celestite is a stone of artistry and is highly beneficial for anyone wishing to connect to their creative Muse. Remember that dreams and creative energy flow from Neptune and Pisces.

Iolite is a stone for the third eye.  It’s a deep, violet-blue in color and increases our ability to visualize, as well as promoting our self-knowledge.  Iolite is a stone of shamanic vision, psychic knowledge and inner journeys.  It acts like a set of jumper cables directing cosmic currents that revitalize our auric field.  Like Celestite, Iolite also facilitates meditative journeys to other realms.  

Danburite is one of my favorite higher vibrational stones because it is readily available and carries a lot of bang for the buck. This stone comes in a variety of colors (white, pink, yellow and lilac).  Danburite activates the third eye and crown chakra, opening them while simultaneously engaging and aligning the heart chakra. This crystal stimulates both intellect and higher consciousness, helping us draw insight and guidance through meditation. Danburite also facilitates lucid dreaming – a significant property while working with June’s dream energy.

Moonstone is also a great stone for lucid dreaming. This milky-white stone with flashes of iridescence is connected to the lunar cycle and works strongest during the Full Moon.  It instills calmness, promotes psychic abilities and empathy.  Moonstone jewelry is fashion with a purpose.  I often wear it during tarot readings because of its soothing effect and its ability to spark intuition.  Moonstone is strongly connected to the planet Neptune and therefore also connected to Pisces.

Aquamarine, also carries the Neptune, Pisces connection.  Who didn’t see that one coming?  It is a beautiful blue-green color.  Gem quality aquamarine is very expensive, even in smaller pieces.  However, it is so worth it.  This stone clears away mental chatter and quiets a busy mind.  It opens lines of communications (Mercury Retrograde) with yourself and those around you.  It draws out your ability for self-expression and it is a wonderful choice for meditative work.  If you could afford a large enough piece you could use clear aquamarine as a scrying stone to tremendous effect.  In amplifies clairvoyance and intuition, yet shields your auric field. Definitely a heavy hitter stone.

Ametrine, a blend of amethyst and citrine
is a powerful stone for the crown chakra
and one of my favorites. I keep a ready supply!

There are many other crystals you can use with great success this month: labradorite, ametrine, amethyst, fluorite, pearl, alexandrite – the list goes on.  Use the crystal tools mentioned in this blog alone, or by combining them in a grouping that feels right to you.  Remember to also include good grounding stones in the mix like, jasper, smoky quartz or alexandrite.

June’s retrograde pattern is less challenging and more liberating than you think.  Work with this natural cosmic flow and you’ll see what I mean.  Above all, have fun!

LADY ORACLE

Balancing Act Part 1 - Meet Your Chakras

Energy vibration, like water, seeks its own level.  If you spend your time hanging out in the lower vibrations - jealousy, vengeance, hatred and greed - you perceive your entire existence from that vibration.  Pretty soon you're acting like a character in the revamped "Dallas" series.  Spiteful, melodramatic and clearly low-budget.  Conversely, when you come from a grounded, peaceful state and are guided by compassion, joy and love, you are dwelling in the upper vibrations.  And that, my friends, is the realm of miracles.  

Pure, selfless love, or agape, as the Greeks called it, is a vibrational pipeline straight from your Creator to you.  Once you've touched the fringes of that high, pure vibration, either through meditation, prayer, or by a method entirely your own, there is no doing back.  You're connected, and the truth and purity of that connection vibrates through you.  It is part of you.  There is no separation. 

If you've ever mediated, or worked with energy healing in any form, you are probably already acquainted with chakras.  Chakra, a Sanskrit word meaning 'wheel,' refers to any of several energy centers located in your body.  Spectrum light  emanates from each chakra, expanding outward on both the front and back of your body in a cone-shaped configuration.  This light energy swirls in a clock-wise motion.   When your chakras are balanced they direct your life force and connect you to the earth, to the Divine and to all points in between .  

Each chakra guides a different aspect of your life.  Below is a simple list of the seven major chakra names, their locations, colors and the aspects of life that they govern.

Chakra Name               Location                      Color           Area of Influence

          Crown                  top of the head              violet          Oneness with the Divine, wisdom

          3rd Eye                forehead                         indigo        intuition, subconscious

          Throat                  throat (duh)                     blue           personal power through verbalization

          Heart                   center of the chest          green         love, heart and soul connection

          Solar Plexus      stomach area                  yellow        personal power, manifesting goals

          Sacral                  just below navel            orange       harnesses creative forces, devotion

           Root                    base of the tailbone       red             grounding you in the physical body

That's how the energy is meant to flow, but like most things in life, it's not always that simple.  Chakras become congested, even blocked.  They can be too open, or not not open enough.  They can spin too fast, too slow, or even in the wrong direction.  How's that for complicated?

If you're not convinced that chakras are real, think back to the last time you had a lump in your throat.  Remember that tight ache that made it impossible to get out the words you needed to say?  Uh huh.  Throat chakra.  What about the time your one and only told you that you were no longer their one or only.    Remember how tight your chest felt?  Heart chakra.  The sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach?  Solar Plexus.  Your chakras are hard at work, twenty-four seven, balancing your life force energy even without all the drama.  

You come in contact with hundreds, if not thousands of energy fields each day.  Unfortunately, there's no vaccination against some of them and it's all too easy for your field, or a particular chakra to become polluted.  Where low vibration pollutes, high vibration clears and balances.  How do you know if your chakras are out of balance?  Usually there’s a sense of emotional upheaval, or anxiety that can’t be traced to a root cause such as a bad relationship, an illness or financial woes.  Sometimes it’s as if we’re experiencing feelings that aren’t 

our own.  When you are beset by feelings of anger, hurt or fear and you can’t attribute the source, consider this.  Emotions like fear and anxiety can also come from negative energy that leaks through your body’s own energy field and unbalances one, or more chakras.

Huh?  That’s right; and this is how it works.

Your chakras help you perceive the world, or worlds, around you.  They put out and take in energy not only to perpetuate your existence, but to help you translate energy into thoughts, emotions and physical properties. While chakras are putting energy into your auric field (the energy field surrounding your body), they are also receiving energy from the auric fields of everyone and everything around you. How you are able to handle the incoming energy determines a lot about your day. 

How do you feel when you see a basket of kittens, or puppies?  How do you feel when you see video footage of a riot? What happens to you energetically, when someone yells at you, or calls you names?  What if they praise you, or tell you how much you mean to them? All these things have an effect on your body’s energy flow and whether or not your energy stays at a high vibration or plummets to a low one.

In my next blog, we’ll take a look at using various crystals and meditation to clean and balance the chakras.

LADY ORACLE