Stacie's Metaphysical Corner

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Smoky Amethyst | Twice as Nice | Enter the Earth

Smoky Amethyst Pebbles at etemetaphysical.com, click here.

Smoky Amethyst

Super Something

I have never seen smoky quartz and amethyst in the same crystal before working at Enter the Earth. I had no idea such a thing existed. I bought a sweet little double terminated smoky amethyst crystal within weeks of beginning my job. The energetic properties of these special crystals make them a “must have” for anyone who does any kind of spiritual or energetic work because the amethyst aspect will open and support higher, spiritual energy work, while the smoky aspect protects the worker and the process, brings stability and balance, as well as providing an excellent grounding for those higher energies to be brought to a usable format at this level. These crystals help to bring it in, ground it out, then provide graceful integration of any positive shifts.

These crystals usually don’t all stop at being smoky and amethyst, either. There are quite a few specimens that start wandering into elestial territory, others that have multiple inclusions, and some others that have water bubbles inside (enhydros). Wowsie, wow, wow. Some people are fans of the “Super 7 Stone”, aka “Melody’s Stone”, and I think that if these smoky amethysts are not Super 7’s, that they are somewhere along the continuum. Some are more heavily included than others. The more inclusions, the more likely it’s getting more and more “super”, so to speak.

We also have a smoky amethyst combo stone that we are calling “Banded Amethyst”. These particular polished stones are chevron-like amethyst specimens that have white and smoky quartz banded within it. I don’t get the smack-your-fanny, OMG quality from the polished pieces vs. the crystal varieties, but they have a very settling and soothing effect on the energy system that would make them especially good as hand held meditation stones. I also think they would make excellent “sleep stones” for adults and children. It would have the same “bring it in, ground it out” energies as the crystals, but there are no inclusions in the nice polished pieces.

Oooo, that's really cool.

So, smoky amethyst, who knew? From crown to root, it will tickle your energy field in ways that make you a bit better at what you already do well; bring it in, ground it out, and bring about healing shifts with graceful integration.

Christopher and I have a brand new website and blog. :) I'm going to leave archived blog articles up in here, but all new articles will be published under the new site.

Our new website is here:
http://www.etemetaphysical.com

Our new blog, which we have integrated together, is here:
http://blog.etemetaphysical.com/

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Why Use Rocks for Energy Work?

So, why do we care about rocks anyway??

There are a lot of metaphysical properties of rocks books out there that will tell you what each stone is about and the vibrations that they contain. It all sounds good (if a little over the top sometimes) but how the heck do you get to this "energy" and why would you want to?

I often compare the vibrational quality of rocks to the vibrational quality of music. When I hold a rock, I actually feel a subtle "hum" in my body. Different rocks "hum" or "buzz" me in slightly different ways and some literally make me feel like I'm a bit tipsy. I see rocks, or at least most of them, like vibrational tuning forks that can help us tune our own wildly fluctuating systems to a more balanced and steady state. If humans had an "energetic" sound, I think it would be more like a practicing orchestral pit. When you work with stones, you introduce a steady note or vibration with which to calm and focus your own. That may be a bit oversimplified, but that's the general idea of "why" you might like to work with stones.

Of course, you can't talk about the vibrational "tuning" effect of rocks, or any other energy healing modality, without also talking about the human energy field or system. You just can't divorce the concept of our own energetic reality from the story of why we would bother to use tools like rocks to tweak our "vibs' in one way or another. There are quite of few different perspectives on the human energy system, most of which are thousands of years old and are based in ancient spiritual and healing traditions. I'll post some of the various energy system perspectives below with links for you to read up on it.

Basic Chart of the Chakra System

The Meridian System from Traditional Chinese Medicine

Aura: The Concept of an Overall Energy Field Around the Body

You can basically spend a lifetime doing nothing but studying all the various schools of thought on the human energy field. I had read a little about chakras when I was much younger and wasn't terribly excited by the information until a friend of mine actually ~introduced~ me to my heart chakra. It went from being an intellectual concept to an authentic reality to me in a matter of seconds. Like I've said before, feeling is believing.

It was a simple exercise, really. He stood at my side and put one of his hands about a foot behind my back at the level of my heart and his other hand about a foot in front of my body at the level of my heart. His palms were facing one another with me standing in between. He then began moving his hands further away from me and I felt this weird magnetic "tugging" sensation at my heart. It was as if his hands were strong magnets and I was able to feel the magnetic pull the two had to each other. Next, he asked if I could tell when his back hand was in position and when he took it away. I closed my eyes and I could absolutely tell when his back hand went down. The magnetic pull was broken. He was also a Reiki Master and then put his hands between my shoulder blades to show me what Reiki felt like, but that is another story altogether. It was a life changing afternoon, that's for sure. Thanks Doug and Jane for introducing me to my own energy system. :)

So where do the rocks fit in this picture? Well, people generally like to use rock energy (or the steady vibrational "note" of a rock) like a tuning fork to fill in, clear, stabilize, or vitalize possible deficits, imbalances, or weaknesses in their own energy systems. Rocks aren't the only show in town for this kind of work, any energy work modality essentially seeks to do the same thing, but rocks are pretty and sparkly... and most of us just like sparkly things. :)

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

There's Something About Madagascar

On the coastline of Madagascar. Can you see the winking boulder?

There’s Something About Madagascar

Many months ago, a customer came into the store and we were discussing the amazing variety of stones coming out of Madagascar, and he said something to me that gave me goose bumps. He mentioned that scientists used to think that Madagascar was proof of ancient Lemuria or Atlantis because the fossil, plant, and rock history of the island was so like other places, it was as if huge chunks of land must have been missing that once should have connected Madagascar to mainland Africa or India. The acceptance of the “continental drift” theory of plate tectonics finally dispelled any scientific belief in Madagascar being evidence of those fabled missing landmasses. However, the acceptance of that theory does nothing to diminish the fact that the stones from Madagascar are either completely unique to the island, or the variety of rocks and crystals that are found there are simply more gemmy, vibrant and, in my humble opinion, more “energetically juicy” than those found in other areas of the planet. The more I work with the stones from Madagascar, the more I am convinced that there is just something special about the crystals and gemstones coming from there.

My first exposure to the unusually hot nature of Madagascar minerals was over a year ago when I came into the store as a customer. I bought a star rose quartz sphere that so impressed me that I left my resume’ with Carol, the store manager, before I left downtown that day. I’ve been an energy worker and all around crystal-toting, tree-hugger for well over a decade. I’ve spent a good deal of my time rolling around in various energetic healing modalities of all kinds and even authored an energy healing activity book called, Awake in Angelscape. Most of my own learning process revolved around working with stones in some way, so I’m always interested in specimens groovy enough to knock my booties off after all this time. I was thrilled when Carol called to offer me a job here at Enter the Earth. I knew I’d never have a dull day, and boy, is that an understatement.

Enter the Earth, Inside the Grove Arcade, Asheville, NC

So what is it about Madagascar? Why is it that so many of the stones that come from there are so functionally “smoking”? I suspect that the land there must be a convergence of high vibrational sacred sites and vortices of potent Earth energies. How else could the gemological resources from there be so powerful? I have not visited the island myself, so I cannot do more than theorize; but Madagascar, you have my undivided attention.

I also suspect that part of the reason why the resources at Enter the Earth are so “zoomy” is because Nader, the owner of the business, goes to Madagascar himself to hand select the rocks that end up getting shipped back to the States. He goes twice a year and stays for a month at a time, visiting the mines and selecting the resources that speak to him. I’m not sure that he is aware of how fine-tuned his own senses are in selecting therapeutic grade, energy-healing tools, but he is what I call “a natural” at it. Whatever inner prompts or nudging he responds to in his selection process couldn’t possibly be more “in tune”.

Nader looking over some Smoky Amethyst crystals in Madagascar.

Many of the rocks and crystals coming out of Madagascar are new to the market. They aren’t in any of the metaphysical rock books yet. The ones that have made it into the books are often found under trademarked names that you wouldn’t identify with the actual mineralogical names of the stones that we use to describe them. So, that leaves us with an interesting challenge in providing the energy-healing community with the information that they can use to select and utilize some of these amazing new tools.

We have a brand new perspective for this New Year. Enter the Earth, the retail store, is going to provide new workshops and learning demonstrations on a variety of crystal healing and energy healing topics that will range from extreme basics to more in-depth learning and sharing opportunities. I will be facilitating most of the workshops, but I’m also interested in having more experienced workers come in to share some of their specialties too. In between the workshops and in-store demonstrations, I will do my best to “whisper” the crystals and gemstones that we have, so that we can effectively share that information with you. Crystal Whispering is a skill I’ve developed over the last decade that I’m happy to be able to put to good use in this coming year for Enter the Earth. I will endeavor to do a full reading on at least one new Madagascar crystal or rock resource a month, and to communicate that information through a monthly newsletter and on the website. If I can do more, I will.

If you have had an interesting experience with anything you’ve gotten from the store and would like to share how you work with your tools and resources, please, please… write in and let us know!