Using Gemstones for Tarot reading: which, and how?
Short answer: I love using stones to help me, and find clear quartz is the most effective.
Do you use gemstones in your Tarot readings? How?
P.S. I’m doing a series of videos on this. Questions or suggestions on topics is VERY welcome! Just mention anything you would like to see covered in the comments.
I hovered my hand above the baskets of gemstones, trying to pick one that had a nice vibe to it. Being in a woo-woo store, I knew I wouldn’t be looked at askance. I liked the look of these pretty green stones, and it had a good feel in my hands. So I took one home.
Calcite comes in shades of gold, white, black, green, gray, yellow, blue brown and read. Lots of variety for this little stone! In the form of limestone and marble, it comprises a significant portion of Earth’s crust.
The stone itself seems to have a calming effect on me. It’s energy reminds me of the hypnotic effect of waves washing up on a beach. There’s an underlying vibration of power and inevitability about this stone to me, much like the expression of nature’s cycles.
It’s a stone of health associated with Cancer, so you can look for it to take care of you, just like your favorite Cancer might. You can bathe with it, lay it on your body or carry for physical healing, strength and immunity boosting.
Associated with the solar plexus chakra, it should help with a sense of personal power, a strong inner foundation. High-grade optical calcite was used in World War II for gun sights, in bomb sights and anti-aircraft weapons. How much more aligned with power could you ask for here?
“Calcite has the unique optical quality of double refraction. Draw a line with a pen on a piece of paper, then place a piece of calcite over the line. When you look through the stone, the line will appear to be doubled.” – Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic
Green calcite as pictured is said to enhance intuition and healing abilities, as well as physical issues connected to the heart, dissolving tumors and malignancies, and helping with sinus and lung issues. As green is the traditional color of the Heart Charka, I’m not surprised at the connection.
Caring for your Calcite: it’s not an especially hard stone, so beware abrasives.
Have you worked with Calcite? What do you think of it?
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(Cunningham’s Encyclopedia Series) by Scott Cunningham |
I was in the bedroom on the phone, complaining to a friend how much I missed my Infinite stone. This piece, I love and he’d been in hiding for MONTHS. Couldn’t find him anywhere, although I looked repeatedly. That happens, I know.
But it made me sad anyway–this is the best healing stone I’ve ever had! I was completely smitten from the minute I saw the picture in an eBay auction. I knew he would be a good match for me.
Well, he must have heard me lamenting the loss. He showed up the next day, on the floor next to a footstool in the bedroom. You know, someplace I’d looked a few dozen times. Someplace I’d walked by at least a thousand times.
I was so happy to see him!
I’m also thinking, maybe I should be cleaning him regularly. In my research on Infinite, I was getting mixed results on the need for clearing this stone and since it never stopped working for me, didn’t much bother. But considering his vacation…well, maybe I will rethink that. A little moonlight, or sun, or some time with the Selenite should do it. Maybe he just needed a vacation.
I think he still loves me, though–that’s why he came back home!
Do your stones act like this?
Aquamarine is a stone of WATER. Aquamarine is a blue-green variety of beryl, and a sister of the Emerald. The word is from the Latin words “aqua” and “mare,” meaning water and sea respectively. Like the sea, some are blue and some are green.
Heat treatment makes this stone more blue…
Associated with psychic abilities, intuition and healing, it’s also used for protection for traveling by water—place one in a container of water for a protective amulet. Like water, it’s also used for cleansing and purifying emotions and charkas. It can help you manage emotions and find relief, washing away worries and overwhelm. It’s used for managing fear and dealing with tidal emotion. Pisces and those with heavy Neptunian influences would likely find this an especially friendly stone.
This stone can actually feel like waves, washing over and around you as you hold it. (Or at least, it does to me!) Not drowning, but more like a seashell on the beach, when the tide comes in. There’s a sense of flowing, acceptance in this stone’s personality, you know? It seems sympathetic and soothing.
It’s most associated with the Throat Chakra–which cracks me up, as I notice all these stones I have been picking up lately seem to be associated with the Throat Chakra. Like I need help in running my mouth? Ha!
Physically, Aquamarine is used for cleaning and purifying the digestive system and any fluid elements of the body. It’s also long been used for vision and eye health.
Caring for your Aquamarine—this is a fairly hardy stone that doesn’t require special handling. For energy cleansing, I would suggest water. Go figure.
Do you have or use Aquamarine? Do you like this stone?
Lapis is a gemstone with quite a history! It’s named ‘lapis’, the Latin word for stone, and ‘azula’, which is Arabic meaning blue. Lapis lazuli is made up of several minerals, including but not limited to: lazurite, sodalite, hauyne, calcite and pyrite. Painters from pre-Renaissance and later used ground lapis as pigment .
“In ancient Egypt, lapis lazuli was a favorite stone for amulets and ornaments such as scarabs; it was also used in ancient Mesopotamia for seals and jewelry. Lapis jewelry has been found at excavations of the Predynastic Egyptian site Naqada (3300–3100 BC), and powdered lapis was used as eyeshadow by Cleopatra. In ancient Mesopotamia, lapis artifacts can be found in great abundance, with many notable examples having been excavated at the Royal Cemetery of Ur (2600-2500 BC).” – Wikipedia
The ancient Egyptian book of the dead said that Lapis, set in gold in the shape of an eye, was a very powerful amulet! So it’s been used magically for a very long time…
Because the highest quality Lapis comes from Afghanistan, it may not be as readily available currently as it has been in the past. So if you find a good specimen at a reasonable price, snatch it up!
Ruled by Jupiter, Lapis is known to cleanse all the chakras, associated some with the throat charka but especially with the Third Eye. It’s said to impart ancient wisdom and knowledge to it’s bearer, and insists that you raise your vibration to connect with it as opposed to the other way around.
It’s used for expanding your vision and perspective, psychic seeing, and protection from psychic attack. Holding it, the energy does indeed have an expansive quality. You can place it directly to your third eye (middle of the forehead, centered a little above your physical eyes) for psychic vision work. I sometimes use it in readings. I also have a pendulum made of Lapis (thanks, Cedar!), and it’s served me well.
Look to Lapis when you want and need clarity and objectivity—when you’re ready to understand the bigger-picture truths! There is a timelessness about it. It is a good stone to use for dreamwork as well. Creativity and awareness are both enhanced by Lapis. It’s suggested for teachers and public speaking.
For healing, it’s said to aid thyroid, speech or hearing issues, insomnia, and relieve anxiety. It’s historically been used to draw poisons or fever out of the body. It’s also used to address deeply buried emotional trauma.
Caring for your Lapis Lazuli: This stone is of moderate hardness; it should be protected from acidic substances, avoiding chemical contact in general and should not be exposed to too much sunlight. It can also chip or crack, so be aware when wearing Lapis jewelry. Water can destroy the protective coating on polished pieces, so don’t store in water for cleansing.
Do you use Lapis Lazuli? How?
Before I write about a gemstone, I like to take it out and play with it a bit. Getting attuned, reminding myself of the impressions it leaves. Grabbing my little Angelite ball, I noticed how very similar it feels very similar to Celestite. Good reason, it turns out. It’s formed of Celestite under pressure, over millions of years.
This stone is actually named Anhydrite, but commonly known as Angelite. “Angelite” is from the Greek word “anhydra,” meaning “without water.” It’s a sedimentary mineral that forms in massive rock layers, without water it’s in crystal structure.
Angelite is known as a stone of awareness. Associated with Aquarius, it’s used for communication with angelic guides, connection to the unseen realms, ethereal knowledge and development of psychic abilities. Think higher perspective. Astral travel, vision quests, and protection during these types of endeavors would be considered a good use of this stone.
For healing, Angelite’s associated with the regulation of water in the body, weight, throat concerns, the thyroid, and circulatory and blood-related issues. It’s also said to impact the auto-immune system and be helpful for inflammation.
The stone has a very soft, soothing feel about it. I find it gentle and calming. It’s said to help align the physical body with the auric body. It’s also associated with the Throat Charka, so it’s a good stone to help you speak your truth.
This is a lovely stone for meditation, to help connect to higher realms and retain a sense of being protected at the same time. It’s as peaceful as being enveloped in an angel’s wings.
Caring for your Angelite: physically, this is a soft stone and should not be left in water, as that will damage it. I’d also avoid storing it with anything abrasive (i.e. not storing in a bowl of sea salt). This gentle stone wants gentle handling.
Do you use Angelite? What do you think of it?
