~ Amazonite ~

Amazonite is a terrifically powerful stone, holding within it the ability to focus and bring to the surface your own personal powers. It encourages your sense of honor, courage and self confidence, raising your level of integrity and helping you to open up, communicate and love yourself. 

This great stone also helps us tap into the universal energy and love by encouraging us to think not with our logic and what we know for fact, but trusting our instincts thinking with our intuitive side. Let Amazonite help guide you through and you'll be surprised at the amazing paths laid out before you.

Amazonite will help draw energies to restore your faith and give you the self confidence and inner strength you need to make the hard decisions while still being compassionate to those involved, yourself included

~ Amethyst ~

Amethyst Crystals are closely tied into your Crown Chakra, lending themselves to anything related to thinking, dreaming or exploring your physic abilities. 
The powers of divination and meditation are greatly increased when you introduce the use of Amethyst into your work, the energy of the crystal acts as an amplifier helping you to see what might otherwise be hidden. 

That quality also makes Amethyst a valuable tool in the realm of dream work, it has been prized for it's ability to induce vivid dreams that you can remember, and it has also been used in lucid dreaming and Astral travel with much success.  

Amethyst is also known worldwide for it's sobering effects, it has been nicknamed the "Stone of Sobriety" because it was found to help people from becoming drunken due to over consumption of alcohol.

Where to Keep Your Crystals

I like to think about my Stones as good friends, For the most part I treat them as though they have feelings just like I do.  SO, if I were a crystal where would I like to sit?  In general a good place to put your Crystals is somewhere they will have a good vantage point, a shelf where they can watch over you perhaps.  

But what about it you want to use them... Well then you have several options. Crystals are best able to influence your personal energy field when they are within 3 feet of you, so carrying them with you is a very popular way of using them on a daily basis. 

You can wear them as jewelry (my personal favorite), keep them in a pocket or your bag, I have even met people that liked to keep their crystals in their shoes.

No matter where you keep your Crystals if you have them close by your days will be more pleasant and easy going then ever before.  Later on we will discuss different types of stones for different types of benefits.

A Few Ways to Cleanse Your Gemstones and Crystals

These are just a few of the dozens of types of ways to cleans negative and excess energy from your stones.  Enjoy.

~ Visualization ~ 
This method usually entails holding your crystal in your hand (open or closed) and then you can go through a basic meditation in which you envision all the dirt and stickiness flowing away from the crystal. You can also add a bright white healing presence surrounding your crystal, watch as all the negative tar seeps out from the crystal and is dissipated and cleaned by the white light. Then once all of the filth is gone admire your beautiful sparkling friend and meet them again for the first time.

~ Breath ~ 
This can be a fun method! You hold your Gem in your hands close to your mouth and imagine all the extra energy flowing out of the crystal and into the wind as you blow onto the Gem. It is kind of like blowing on a dandelion puff and making a wish. This is a method you can use as often as several times a day... Just be careful, repeated use of this method in a short period of time can lead to lightheadedness and a silly feeling in your head.


 ~ Water ~ 
You can give your stone a good ol' fashion bath, soak it in a bowl of water over night with a possible scrub down as well. If soaking your stone doesn't want to take a bath, it may very well like a shower. Run some cool or hot water (depending on it's preference) and place your beauty underneath the water for a bit, literally washing away the funk.


~ Sun ~
Everyone can appreciate a nice sunny day, so why keep your crystals in the dark. Leaying your crystals out in the sun for a day to soak up some rays can bake away all the excess baggage they are carrying around. (WARNING! Amethyst, Citrine, Smokey Quartz, Fluorite, and any other translucent colored crystals and stones can be faded by the sun! You will want to try a different cleansing method for these!)


~ Moon ~ 
 If you'd rather not put a particular stone in the direct sunlight, try the bright glow of a full moon for a night; Any moonlight will do, however the Full Moon has meanings all its own.) The Moon is a powerful tool in transmutation and it can easily suck the yuck out of your friends heart and return it to a state of pure bliss.
 
~ Earth ~
Until I actually tried this method I was skeptical... I was told to bury my stones in a shallow grave under a few inches of dirt and leave then for about 3 days. I tell you, returning my crystals to the earth for a short vacation worked wonders! When it's time to bring them back to the surface make sure you wash them gently with water, unless you'd like them to hold on to the rustic film of dirt for a bit. 

~ Smoke ~
One classic way to rid any energy field of anything unnecessary is to smudge it with Smoke. Take a leaf of Dried Sage, light it and blow out the flame. The leaf should be smoking, now surround the Crystal with the smoke and send the extra "stuff" away. Sometimes when I smudge I can get really into it, and I will vocally talk to the negativity and tell it to "shoo" while making the shoo-ing motion with my hands :) Other Herbs commonly used for their purification abilities are Frankincense, Cedar and Sandalwood.

~ Flames ~
You must take great precautions when using flames on Crystals and Stones, they are fragile when it comes to heat. Flames however are an excellent way to keep your stones fresh and clear. One safe-ish way to do this cleaning is to light a candle and gently run your crystal above the apex of the flames several times. It should not be close enough that the flame leaves soot on the stone because that can cause your crystal to fracture of crack. 

~ Salt ~ 
Salt, preferably Sea Salt (for it's natural mineral content, lack of additives and both metaphysical and physical properties) can be used to cleanse your stones, you may want to consider this method if your stone is desperately in need of some help as a salt cleanse can be rather harsh on delicate or softer stones. On to the details... One way to do this is to fill a bowl with salt and bury your stone completely in the center, then leave it for 1-3 days. You can also give your friend a gentler salt water bath, mixing warm water with salt and placing the stone in there for an overnight soak. Adjust the saltiness depending on the severity of the clog, and make sure to rinse off the stone afterwards to remove the salt residue. Like I said, this method can be harsh, please take into consideration the type of stones you cleanse with salt, if you have any concerns or questions be sure to ask!

Happy cleansing!

Why Cleanse your Crystals, Gems and Stones

First off, Why do you even need to cleanse your crystals at all you might ask...  Well, when you use crystals and stones especially on a regular basis they can become "clogged" with energy.  They get a buildup of excess energy that needs to be cleared away so the crystal may start functioning at it full potential again. 

This buildup can come from thoughts, emotions, touching or even just being in the vicinity of objects and people with strong energy fields. There are too many ways to mention all here, but basically everything your crystal comes in contact with will leave behind a bit of it's energetic imprint; Crystals are very impressionable, that's part of the reason we use them, so a bit of regular maintenance will keep them (and by proxy you) healthy and whole!

Cleansing your Stones should never be something you feel you "Have to do", instead do it at a time when you can devote a large amount of love to them, cleansing them is a small way to say Thank You for all the help they offer. It also restores their natural vibrations which in turn makes for happier stones. There is no right or wrong way to clean a crystal only your way, and you may find that different crystals request different treatment. Usually when I cleanse my stones I end up using a combination of at least 3 of the methods mentioned in this blog, however the stones in my personal collection are all heavily used (and I love them very much for putting up with me).

It should be mentioned that certian types of stones are self cleansing, usually these are the types of stone that will by nature cleanse an area (like Kyanite) or transmute negative energy to positive(like Citrine).  Thats not to say that they will never need to be cleansed, but usually unless they feel sluggish or tainted from extreme use they should be just fine.  

I would love to hear about any other methods you may know of, feel free to comment and share your thoughts, experiences and knowledge!