with additional material by Deb Snavely
This book began as a compilation of column, “Rocks in Her Head”, published first in the magazine Pagan Muse & World Report in 1992–1993. In the course of repeated revisions, the material has grown to become a multi-author work. We present this material in sections:
- Favorite Stones describes a handful of Alix’s personal favorites.
- A Trove of Jewels covers traditional precious stones commonly used in commercial jewelry.
- Metal Magics discusses the mineral uses of various metals, an all-too-rare segment, and one that specifically addresses the alchemical and magical correspondences of metals.
- Commonly Available Stones continues a listing of semiprecious stones and minerals. In editing this material (which originally comprised a number of multi-part columns in the Muse), Deb has compiled all of the stones and metals into a single alphabetized listing, to enable its use as reference material.
Alix’ Favorite Stones
When asked to write about minerals for a Pagan magazine, I had reservations. You see, whenever I’m asked, “Are you into crystals?” I don’t react well. I have a picture in my mind of someone who is “into crystals,” and it certainly isn’t me. It’s someone wearing tie-dyed clothes, with a silly expression, rummaging through their bag o’rocks every time someone nearby has a complaint, and offering free cleansings with their pet quartz.
Nevertheless, I’ve spent a great deal of time studying rocks and minerals, doing my own experimentation, and comparing the opinions of a number of authors. I have to admit, I find semi-precious stones very useful for magic, as well as darn nice to look at. And I suppose I should, in all fairness, even admit to having a small box of assorted “gems” in front of my workstation at my last job. All the same, I’m definitely not “into crystals.” I appreciate the natural forces contained within all objects, especially rocks and minerals. Yeah, that’s it.
I’m aware that there are many ways to use even a single stone, and my interpretation may not agree with yours. First and foremost, I believe we should learn about these kinds of tools through personal experience, so you should value your own impressions. For this first segment, I’ve chosen to share some of my favorite stones.
Hematite
Element: Earth Planet: Saturn Sign: Capricorn
Magical Uses: grounding, centering, self-discipline, reducing stress, limitations
I use hematite mainly for centering myself when I feel “out of sorts”. You can use this stone for grounding, or as a transformative tool to increase self-discipline. Hematite is soothing to the mind and emotions, and it helps lower stress while increasing your internal focus. Just the sight of hematite’s “frozen quicksilver” appearance calms my nerves! The Saturnine influence of hematite makes it useful to work with limitations, help you to overcome these obstacles, or learn to set personal boundaries. For all of these reasons, I find hematite a good stone to keep with me at work.
Sugilite
Element: Water Planet: Neptune
Sign: Pisces
Magical Uses: peace, psychic development, divination, astral projection, spirituality, meditation
This violet-pink to purple stone is one of my favorites, but one which I use more sparingly than others. Sugilite is a peaceful, almost blissful rock, connected to the psychic mind. This stone is rather like the antithesis of a grounding stone. You can use it for increasing psychic awareness, as a boost during divination, and to help you explore the astral plane. Sugilite is a good tool for spiritual development and may enhance meditation, but do not use it when you need grounding. If you need to be present in your body to make some practical decisions, choose another stone.
Obsidian
Element: Fire Planet: Pluto Sign: Scorpio
Magical Uses: transformation, protection, shielding, energy focus, negativity
Obsidian is a stone of transformation—and not necessarily gentle transformation. You can use this volcanic glass for simple grounding, but obsidian is most potent in protective rituals, establishing shields, and as a talisman transforming energies. If you charge and direct this stone with this intention, obsidian can help to focus and control scattered energies for productive results. You can also use this stone to understand negative or seemingly negative emotions, revealing their source and usefulness. Obsidian is not a stone to use casually, but it can be very helpful in specific cases, particularly when you feel you are working through a difficult passage in your life.
Amethyst
Element: Air Planet: Uranus Sign: Aquarius
Magical Uses: transformation, memory, concentration, addiction, meditation, ethics, purpose, creativity
Amethysts are potent crystals that can help to change your life in a non-violent fashion—times when obsidian might seem a bit too hot to handle! The focus of this beautiful, violet crystal is on ideas and revolution. You can use an amethyst to improve memory, concentration, and to sharpen your wit. You can also use it to break free from restrictive habits and addictions. In psychic pursuits, particularly through meditation, the amethyst can help you discover your purpose in life and make ethical decisions. You can also use amethysts in creativity magic, whenever you need to stimulate original ideas.
Amethyst is found by some to be a great ‘amplifying’ crystal; bringing out qualities of other stones, plants, or people in stronger ways.
Kunzite
Element: Water Planet: Venus Sign: Libra & Pisces Magical Uses: peace, love, friendship, grounding, emotional healing, relaxation
I first encountered kunzite, a deep pink crystal, at my local pagan bookstore. I asked one of the owners what she knew about this stone, and she just said, “Pick it up and you tell me.” I picked up a tiny piece of the stone (all they had) and was suddenly suffused with a feeling of affection, and well-being. I was positively delighted! I bought a piece, and now wish I had bought more, as I gave mine to a friend to keep her company.
Kunzite is a sweet, friendly stone. It radiates peace and satisfaction, with a touch of grounding. This stone is definitely connected to love, but not necessarily passionate love—more friendship and deep, abiding love. Kunzite is good for meditation, and healing. If you have a painful emotional spot to work through, remember this stone. It can help activate your own feelings of self-love to work through the pain.
Stones in Oils
Stones in oils are generally called elixirs; oils often refer to “essential oils” where one item is used, elixirs have more than one—the oil & the stone. Modernly, these terms are interchangeable to the confusion and chagrin of many. When I make a ritual oil I plan to keep on hand for a while, I like to choose a stone that is sympathetic to the purpose of the oil, and store it in the same bottle. For example, I keep a small piece of topaz in my Fire oil, and a piece of amethyst in my Air oil. I don’t, however, use stones that contain ore (such as bornite, a copper ore), or fragile stones (such as chrysocolla) that might disintegrate in the oil over time. Oils should be considered topical only for health safety.
Gift Idea
I love giving magical gifts, and semi-precious stones offer a lot of gift-giving potential. Once, one of my coven sisters was heading overseas for a couple weeks, and we wanted to send a charm with her. I suggested that, along with the protection charm we were going to prepare, we add a little “mineral first-aid kit.”
For this kit, I chose a selection of small stones to help her through anything that might come up. I chose a stone for grounding, one for meditation, one to alleviate stress and depression, another for love and affection, and so on. The idea was that, whenever she felt she needed something, she could find it in this kit (which we bundled into a silver drawstring bag). We charged the bag of stones along with the protection charm, and she took the stones with her on the trip.
A Trove of Jewels
Part of the fun of discovering the magical uses of gems and minerals involves applying these meanings to the stones in your existing jewelry. While it’s hard to find many of the more exotic rocks in any form other than glued to a piece of foam (for exhibition purposes), luckily the more common stones in jewelry are full of meaning, too. Here, we cover the meaning of many historic gemstones.
Aquamarine
Element: Water Planet: Neptune
Sign: Pisces
Magical Uses: sea magic, prophecy, psychic development, inspiration, peace, love, friendship
Aquamarine has a strong association with mystical uses and sea magic. You can use these gems to promote prophetic dreams and increase your awareness of psychic perceptions. These stones draw inspiration. You can use aquamarine to explore and calm your emotions, for love or friendship magic. This gem is useful in cases where you feel anxious or detached from your intuitive self.
Diamond
Element: Fire Planet: Sun Sign: Aries
Magical Uses: strength, courage, self-confidence, optimism, purification, balance, love, protection
These brilliant stones emphasize the solar qualities of strength, courage, self-confidence, and optimism. You can use them for purification and balance, in cases where you find you are over-internalizing. Also use diamonds in love magic, for workings designed to reconcile two lovers or reinforce their relationship (preferably with their consent!). Diamonds are also good general protection spells.
Emerald
Element: Water Planet: Venus Sign: Taurus
Magical Uses: love, friendship, peace, enlightenment, truth, business, prosperity, creativity, happiness
Emeralds are wonderful for relationship magic, as well as rituals for peace and enlightenment. You can use these gems to draw, seal, or reconcile a romantic or platonic relationship. Emeralds uncover the truth in daily life and reinforce magical thinking. They act to transform through illumination. You can use emeralds in business and prosperity rituals, along with rituals for creativity and happiness. In career magic, you can use emeralds to their best advantage in rituals designed to find a career in alignment with your true will, while at the same time drawing prosperity and success.
Garnet
Element: Fire Planet: Mars Sign: Aries
Magical Uses: protection, energy, regeneration, sexual magic, integrity, loyalty, honesty, friendship
Garnets are fiery, passionate stones that are useful for protection, stimulating energy flow and regeneration. Garnets are effective when dealing with sexual energies and kundalini. On the less active side, you can use these stones for promoting personal integrity, loyalty and honesty. You can use garnets in magic involving friendship, strengthening the bond between two friends and encouraging the qualities that keep friendship.
Jade
Element: Water Planet: Venus Sign: Libra
Magical Uses: wisdom, longevity, justice, charity, balance, purification, peace, compassion, tranquility, healing, love, beauty
Jade has an ancient association with wisdom and longevity. You can use this stone for internal work involving justice, charity and balance. Jade acts to purify the mind and emotions, and encourage compassion for others. This stone brings peace and serenity, making it a useful meditation tool. You can use jade for general healing or love issues. Jade is effective in rituals designed to manifest inner beauty externally.
Lapis Lazuli
Element: Fire Planet: Sun Sign: Leo
Magical Uses: longevity, prosperity, healing, leadership, communication, psychic development
Lapis lazuli was valued highly by the Egyptians. Pharaohs wore collars of it; it was used extensively in pyramid burials as grave goods, readying them for the afterlife. Its sparkling gold flecks mark the true lapis (distinguishing it from sodalite). Lapis is a magical stone whose surprising solar qualities bely its royal blue color. You can use lapis in rituals to enhance leadership qualities, improve communication abilities, and draw prosperity; it is eminently suited to magic for promotions and career recognition. Lapis also supports healing and longevity, and third-eye workings to increase psychic sensory awareness.
Opal
Element: Air Planet: Venus Sign: Libra
Magical Uses: emotions, mental powers, psychic development, past life work, memory, hope, love, friendship
Opals are emotionally oriented stones balanced by the mental influence of air. Opals find good use in workings helping people deal with emotions, particularly unresolved anger. These gems are useful in psychic development, particularly clairvoyance and past life exploration. In mental arenas, opals stimulate the intellect and increase memory. This gives you the ability to adequately analyze the psychic intuitions and spiritual wisdom you receive while using the stone. Opals represent hope and loving expression, plus are symbolic of friendship and devoted love.
Ruby
Element: Fire Planet: Mars Sign: Aries
Magical Uses: energy, magical success, courage, self-confidence, fear, money, good fortune, sexual magic
Rubies are wonderfully powerful stones, filled with strong energy. You can use them to re-energize, especially during rituals or following intense magical work. These stones promote courage and self- confidence, banishing fear and insecurity. You can use rubies in rituals for wealth and good fortune. These gems are highly charged, so they work well with sexual issues, particularly in workings to increase the sex drive.
Sapphire
Element: Earth Planet: Jupiter Sign: Sagittarius
Magical Uses: wisdom, tranquility, healing, meditation, divination, devotion, justice, good fortune, enlightenment
Sapphires draw health, wisdom, and tranquility. They are useful in meditation and divination, and often used as a symbol of devotion to a spiritual path. Sapphires bring good fortune, justice (in legal and magical matters), and enlightenment.
Topaz
Element: Fire Planet: Sun Sign: Leo
Magical Uses: strength, courage, wisdom, happiness, health, prosperity, negativity, philosophy, psychic development, enlightenment
As a gemstone of the sun, topaz draws strength, courage, and wisdom. You can boost your magical work for happiness, health, and prosperity with this stone, which is protective against the negative thoughts and magic of others. Using topaz indicates your commitment to philosophy and psychic development. This stone provides illumination to devoted users.
Metal Magicks
Not many books detail the mystic uses of these metals; you’re likely to discover your own additional interpretations.
Brass
Element: Fire Planet: Sun Sign: Leo
Magical Uses: protection, counter-magic, attraction
Brass is a safeguard attracting metal that can be used in rituals of counter-magic and protection. This metal may be combined with another object to attract the quality of that object. Brass is a metal of the fire element, and is often used in place of gold.
Copper
Element: Water Planet: Venus Sign: Taurus
Magical Uses: love, prosperity, magical energy
Copper is the metal of water, useful in love and prosperity magic. This metal conducts magical energy, is great for ‘finding’ ritual, and often in making ritual tools, such as wands or dowsing rods.
Gold
Element: Fire Planet: Sun Sign: Leo
Magical Uses: energy, happiness, wisdom, will-power, vitality, courage, money, success
Gold is a strong symbol of the Sun. Use this metal to draw energy, happiness and wisdom. Because of gold’s strong association with fire, you can use it in ritual to increase your strength of will, vitality, and courage. Gold is useful in money magic and general success.
Iron
Element: Fire Planet: Mars Sign: Aries
Magical Uses: protection, counter-magic, strength
Iron is a great metal to use in any protective or defensive magical working. Some use this metal for luck, counter-magic, and to promote physical strength.
Due to being counter-magic, iron is poor to use when dealing with magical creatures or “callings.”
Lead
Element: Earth Planet: Saturn Sign: Capricorn Magical Uses: grounding, protection
Use lead for grounding and protection magic. This metal has a particularly strong association with the earth element.
Mercury
Element: Air Planet: Mercury Sign: Gemini
Magical Uses: business, gambling, communication, mental powers, cleverness
Mercury is one of the few air metals, great for magic regarding business ventures, buying and selling, gambling and communication. This metal represents intellectual thought and cleverness, and is good for promoting these qualities. Unfortunately, mercury is also highly toxic, and you should only use it when the quicksilver (mercury) is in a sealed container.
Silver
Element: Water Planet: Moon Sign: Cancer
Magical Uses: moon magic, peace, psychic development, femininity, money
Silver symbolizes magnetic, lunar energies. This metal has a strong association with Goddess magic. You can use silver for promoting peace and aiding psychic development. Silver is a good choice for rituals involving the issues of women. Some people use silver in money rituals, as a symbol of the ritual goal.
Steel
Element: Fire Planet: Mars Sign: Aries
Magical Uses: counter-magic, protection
Steel is a protective metal, good for defensive situations. You can set effective magical wards with this metal. Steel has a particularly strong association with the fire element, closely seconded by the air element. Depending upon the ritual traditions you follow, some reverse these expectations. I think you should experiment for yourself to see which element you prefer to steel.
Commonly Available Stones
I love exploring the meanings of hard to find stones and precious gems, but I find that my checkbook doesn’t often allow me the luxury of applying what I learn. The idea of working with a chunk of pure emerald thrills me no end, but let’s be realistic— most of my mineral collection runs under $5.00 a specimen, and that’s not likely to change!
While it’s great to examine the meanings of precious gems and hard-to-find minerals, you can almost always find a common stone to use instead. Ceremonial ritualists may have “other stones to grind on the topic” due to the need for specifics. Such as, doing a ritual for sexual vitality with a ruby is great but, if you don’t have a ruby, you can always use a piece of carnelian. When you take a ritual or spell designed for one stone and substitute another, examine all the meanings of the stone you’re going to use. Each stone is a “personality” that reflects its many uses. Amber and carnelian both deal with negativity, but they work in different ways. The more you study stones and explore them, the quicker you can change rituals and spells based on the stones available.
With this in mind, I decided to discuss the meanings of commonly available rocks and minerals. I’ve found all these stones in local shops for reasonable prices (more or less). Each one has special energies, and, in terms of magic, is just as precious as any diamond. I invite you to explore their meanings in your own fashion. Nothing is ever set in stone—not even the meanings of the rocks themselves.
Agate
Element: Air Planet: Mercury Sign: Gemini
Magical Uses: communication, concentration, eloquence, memory, writing, speaking, business, money, prosperity
Agate is an air-oriented stone aiding communication and mental abilities. You can use this stone to increase effectiveness of normal communication, aid in writing or speaking, or assist in ritual eloquence. Agate can help to increase concentration and retention of knowledge, as well. These versatile stones are also useful for magic intended to draw business, money, and general prosperity.
Agate, Blue Lace
Element: Water Planet: Venus Sign: Libra
Magical Uses: peace, happiness
Blue lace agate is useful for dispelling depression and tension. This stone promotes peace and happiness, and can soothe the mind in times of chaos.
Agate, Moss
Element: Earth Planet: Jupiter Sign: Taurus
Magical Uses: growth, health, balance, centering
Moss agate helps the physical body grow and repair itself naturally. It makes an excellent charm for children in school and out. As a healing stone, it enables the body’s healthy image to manifest.
Amber
Element: Fire Planet: Sun Sign: Leo
Magical Uses: strength, negativity, balance, success, vitality, fertility, prosperity, healing
Amber is a symbol of life and strength. Use amber to restore balance to the body and absorb negative energy. Some use the fossilized resin in rituals to ensure success, whether magical or business. Amber encourages vitality, fertility, and prosperity, while most use it for health and healing.
Amethyst
Element: Air Planet: Uranus Sign: Aquarius
Magical Uses: transformation, memory, concentration, addiction, meditation, ethics, purpose, creativity
Amethysts are potent crystals that can help to change your life in a non-violent fashion—times when obsidian might seem a bit too hot to handle! The focus of this beautiful, violet crystal is on ideas and revolution. You can use an amethyst to improve memory, concentration, and to sharpen your wit. Breaking free from restrictive habits and addictions it helps. In psychic pursuits, particularly through meditation, the amethyst can help you discover your purpose in life and make ethical decisions. You can also use amethysts in creativity magic, whenever you need to stimulate original ideas.
Azurite
Element: Water Planet: Neptune Sign: Pisces
Magical Uses: psychic development, intuition, prophecy, divination, love, friendship
Azurite’s primary value is as an aid to psychic development. This stone stimulates intuition and clears the mind for divination. You can use azurite to promote prophetic dreams and to aid in their interpretation. Use this stone in relationship magic, and to draw potential partners to you.
Bloodstone
Element: Fire Planet: Mars Sign: Aries
Magical Uses: protection, power, strength, motivation, self-confidence, fears, will-power
Bloodstones are active, powerful stones that you can use for protection or for developing power and strength. These stones are well-suited in magic geared toward motivation and self-confidence. You can use bloodstones to overcome fear and to strengthen your will.
Carnelian
Element: Fire Planet: Sun Sign: Leo
Magical Uses: negativity, self-confidence, optimism, peace, prosperity, sexual magic
Carnelian is a useful stone for understanding and transmuting negative emotions such as doubt, jealousy, and anger. This stone increases your self-confidence and optimism. Carnelian also draws peace and prosperity to the wearer, and is useful for rituals designed to attract solar qualities. You can also use carnelian in magic to resolve sexual problems or increase drive.
Fluorite
Element: Air Planet: Mercury Sign: Gemini
Magical Uses: mental powers, memory, concentration, objectivity, understanding
Fluorite is a stone of the mind, used for increasing memory and concentration, as well as promoting intellectual approaches to situations. Fluorite clears the mind and aids in analysis and synthesis. This stone encourages understanding and objectivity.
Hawk Eye
Element: Air Planet: Mercury Sign: Aquarius
Magical Uses: self-confidence, courage, success, money, recognition, truth, loyalty, leadership,
Hawk eye is the same mineral as tiger eye, in a different natural color phase. (Red tiger eye is dyed.) You can use hawk eye to promote clarity and discernment. This stone draws success, wealth, and recognition. Like tiger eye, hawk eye is a stone that aids in leadership and leadership support, as it strengthens insight as well as perception of outside events. This stone can protect you from deception and help you to discern sincerity.
Hematite
Element: Earth Planet: Saturn Sign: Capricorn
Magical Uses: grounding, centering, self-discipline, reducing stress, limitations
I use hematite mainly for centering myself when I feel “out of sorts.” You can use this stone for grounding, or as a transformative tool to increase self-discipline. Hematite is soothing to the mind and emotions, and it helps lower stress while increasing your internal focus. Just the sight of hematite’s “frozen quicksilver” appearance calms my nerves! The Saturnine influence of hematite makes it useful to work with limitations, help you to overcome these obstacles, or learn to set personal boundaries. For all of these reasons, I find hematite a good stone to keep with me at work.
Jasper
Element: Earth Planet: Mars Sign: Capricorn
Magical Uses: protection, shielding, grounding
Jasper is a powerfully protective stone that finds excellent use in rituals where shielding is needed. In particular, jasper protects from non-physical entities, making it useful during questionable evocation and all invocation. You can use this stone in defensive rituals and for scrying. Jasper keeps the wearer balanced and “down to earth,” making it good for grounding volatile energies and releasing obsessions.
Jet
Element: Earth Planet: Saturn Sign: Taurus
Magical Uses: grounding, warding, cleansing, protection
Jet, like amber, is a mineraloid, being a specific variety of lignite (coal), compressed over millenia from ancient wood. Its feel in the hand is neutral as to temperature rather than cool, and, again like amber, it can be rubbed with fabric or fur to produce a spark. Roman magical uses included protection from the evil eye, while the Victorian fashion of mourning jewelry created a great deal of imitation jet (“French jet”) which is actually black glass.
Magically, jet provides a softer grounding than stones like hematite, jasper, or obsidian. Combined with amber, jet often is used for necklaces specific to the Wiccan deities, the Great Mother and the Horned God.
Kunzite
Element: Water Planet: Venus Sign: Libra& Pisces
Magical Uses: peace, love, friendship, grounding, emotional healing, relaxation
I first encountered kunzite, a deep pink crystal, at my local pagan bookstore. I asked one of the owners what she knew about this stone, and she just said, “Pick it up and you tell me.” I picked up a tiny piece of the stone (all they had) and was suddenly suffused with a feeling of affection, and well- being. I was positively delighted! I bought a piece, and now wish I had bought more, as I gave mine to a friend to keep her company.
Kunzite is a sweet, friendly stone. It radiates peace and satisfaction, with a touch of grounding. This stone is definitely connected to love, but not necessarily passionate love—more friendship and deep, abiding love. Kunzite is good for meditation, and for healing. If you have a painful emotional spot to work through, don’t forget this stone. It can help activate your own feelings of self-love, to work through the pain.
Malachite
Element: Earth Planet: Venus Sign: Taurus
Magical Uses: love, prosperity, legal dealings, balance, justice, beauty, magical energy
Malachite is great for magic involving love, prosperity, and legal or contractual decisions. Associated with Taurus, it also has Libra qualities. Use malachite for working toward balance, whether in a relationship, financial situation, or emotions. Use this stone to bring justice, whether legal or karmic. Malachite is a creative stone associated with beauty, but it contains a constant power you may use to enhance magical energies.
Moonstone
Element: Water Planet: Moon Sign: Cancer
Magical Uses: enchantment, moon magic, fertility, creativity, psychic development, femininity, sensitivity, love, emotions
Moonstones are best suited to lunar magic and enchantments. These luminescent stones aid in fertility, creativity, and development of psychic powers. Moonstones have a strong association with feminine and Goddess magic, and are useful in dealing with issues perceived as feminine. Using moonstone tends to increase your sensitivity— emotional, physical, and psychic. In love magic, Moonstones develop, strengthen, and celebrate existing relationships.
Obsidian
Element: Fire Planet: Pluto Sign: Scorpio
Magical Uses: transformation, protection, shielding, energy focus, negativity
Obsidian is a stone of transformation—not necessarily gentle transformation. You can use this volcanic glass for simple grounding, but obsidian is most potent in protective rituals, establishing shields, and as a talisman to transform energies be these for an intent, person, thing, or area. If you charge and direct this stone with this intention, obsidian can help to focus and control scattered energies for productive results. You can also use this stone to understand negative or seemingly negative emotions, revealing their source and usefulness. Obsidian is not a stone to use casually, but it can be very helpful in specific cases, particularly when you feel you are working through a difficult passage in your life.
Onyx
Element: Earth Planet: Saturn Sign: Capricorn
Magical Uses: protection, emotions, objectivity, transformation, friendships, counter-magic, limitations, self-discipline
Onyx is a protective stone that brings awareness of emotions—positive and negative. This stone promotes objectivity, allowing the user to understand the purpose of each emotion and ways in which emotions can be transformed. You can use onyx to seal or to sever a relationship—particularly a friendship. This stone is useful for magical defense and as an internal tool to understand limitations and self-discipline.
Pyrite
Element: Fire Planet: Mars Sign: Leo
Magical Uses: business, money, success, good fortune, inspiration, will-power, shielding
Pyrite is used in business, wealth, and success magic. This mineral draws luck and inspiration. Pyrite is a vital mineral that is used to strengthen the will and shield the mind and body.
Quartz, Crystal
Element: Water Planet: Moon Sign: Scorpio
Magical Uses: energy channel, amplification, storage, grounding, transmutation, psychic development, healing
The primary use of crystal quartz is to control energy flow, as a channel, amplifier, storage device, and grounding stone. These stones are tremendously useful in ritual magic as they can channel and transmute raised energies or be charged with any goal. Quartz is particularly effective when used for psychic development and for healing.
Quartz, Rose
Element: Water Planet: Venus Sign: Libra
Magical Uses: love, happiness, creativity, psychic development, compassion, friendship
Rose quartz is perfect for rituals dealing with love, happiness, and creativity. This stone is also good for psychic development. Rose quartz promotes compassion and affection, and is helpful in magic involving friends. In matters of love, this quartz is healing and can teach an individual self-love.
Rhodonite
Element: Fire Planet: Mars Sign: Aries
Magical Uses: self-confidence, self-esteem, balance, grounding
Rhodonite helps increase self-esteem and self-confidence. It has a stabilizing aspect, and may be used to ground when working to much in esoteric realms. This stone provides balance when earth qualities are lacking.
Rhodochrosite
Element: Water Planet: Venus Sign: Cancer
Magical Uses: crisis, balance, peace, love
Rhodochrosite is a valuable stone to use during a personal crisis; it can help protect you from breakdown (while, at the same time, working to restore balance). It has a soothing effect, and can help the body and mind recover from fatigue. Rhodochrosite is also useful in love rituals, particularly rituals dealing with self-love and platonic relationships.
Sodalite
Element: Air Planet: Uranus Sign: Aquarius
Magical Uses: healing, emotions, peace, wisdom
Sodalite is primarily used for healing, particularly for disturbances of the nervous system. You can use this stone to balance anxiety, stress, depression, and fear. Sodalite is also used for peace and wisdom in conjunction with meditation.
Spectralite
Element: Air Planet: Mercury Sign: Gemini
Magical Uses: clairvoyance, intuition, flexibility
Spectralite (also called labradorite) is a surprising stone with quicksilver qualities both in its fluid refractions and in the flashes of intuition it enables. In its darker blues, it enables emotional flexibility, while the paler gray-greens command scrying talents.
Sugilite
Element: Water Planet: Neptune Sign: Pisces
Magical Uses: peace, psychic development, divination, astral projection, spirituality, meditation
This violet-pink to purple stone is one of my favorites, but one which I use more sparingly than others. Sugilite is a peaceful, almost blissful rock, connected to the psychic mind. This stone is rather like the antithesis of a grounding stone. You can use it for increasing psychic awareness, as a boost during divination, and to help you explore the astral plane. Sugilite is a good tool for spiritual development and may enhance meditation, but do not use it when you need grounding. If you need to be present in your body to make some practical decisions, choose another stone.
Tiger Eye
Element: Fire Planet: Sun Sign: Leo
Magical Uses: self-confidence, courage, success, money, recognition, truth, loyalty, leadership, vitality
You can use tiger eye to promote self-confidence and courage. This stone draws success, wealth, and recognition. Tiger eye is a leader’s stone, as it strengthens vitality and your belief in yourself while inspiring loyalty from others. This stone can protect you from deception and help you to discern sincerity.
Tourmaline, Black
Element: Earth Planet: Saturn Sign: Capricorn
Magical Uses: protection, grounding
Black tourmaline is a highly protective stone that can protect you from the disruptive energies of others. This stone is also useful for grounding.
Tourmaline, Green
Element: Earth Planet: Neptune Sign: Taurus
Magical Uses: fertility, health, family bonds
Green tourmaline works strongly with body and family magics: healing, fertility, relationships. Tourmaline heals through the energy systems of the body, improving lymph circulation and strengthening blood ties.
Secondarily, I have found this a great balancer of the body’s electrical fields, so I use it for bipolar balancing, manic shifts, and electrolite help. This works best in conjunction with usual medical treatments of these maladies.
Tourmaline, Pink
Element: Water Planet: Venus Sign: Cancer
Magical Uses: peace, friendship, love, optimism
Pink tourmaline is a calming stone that attracts friendship and love. This stone encourages compassion for others and an optimistic outlook on life.