Celtic Whispers Ezine
Spiritually Speaking......
Sow'in Stones
Written And Submitted By: By Nyna Shtern
During the month of October, often times even going into very early November, the veil which separates this world from that of the spirit realm (The place we call home between lives) is thin. In very late October it is even almost wide open. This means that we have access during this time of year to the power of both worlds. This can be a good thing if we know how to best use it, and a danger or discomfort if we do not. In this article, I shall cover both of these likelihoods. I shall also cover the stones that, in my experience, are the most handy to have about for protection as well as to open us better to the power around us that comes to our world from the thinning of the veil.
If you feel yourself quickening this time of year, and feel the power like a high energy or a dark mystical power in the air, you may wish to use it. With the thinning of the veil which is usually shut tight, firmly separating our world from that of spirit, sensitives always feel a change. This is because the power that we most of the time only have in the realm of spirit is available to us here for a short time each year. To best use it for your own benefit, it helps to understand what is going on and how it can be applied. Below I shall provide a list of some of the main types of power we are working with and the stones best suited to assist us in our endeavors at such times.
Psychic powers/opening of the third eye!
Each and every one of us has some psychic ability even if we're not practiced enough to be a working psychic. The third is another muscle, though one a bit less spoken of. Like any other, it must be exercised in order to be strong. During this time of year when the veil is thin, giving us much access to the power of spirit, all of our magical talents are stronger. This includes our powers of psychic. If you feel yourself being right more often about things, and having stronger gut feelings, don't be at all surprised. If you're looking to strengthen your psychic muscle, this time of year is perfect for practice as you're more open.
A stone wonderful for working with this is labradorite. It is a lovely opalescent stone of a green, gray, blue color. It is rather fragile, so if you own or seek to own a piece, it is best to keep it separated from other stones or jewelry you may have to keep it from being nicked or broken. Having a large piece to hold or carry during psychic work, practice and reading alike, it is a good thing. Also a labradorite pendant worn about the neck is wonderful to keep the third eye open and aware. I suggest wearing the pendant on a shorter cord or chain if you are able for it is then even closer to the third eye. It is also good to meditate with one of these on your third eye to open the psychic as well, especially if you're meditating on a specific issue you seek an answer about.
If doing psychic readings for yourself or anyone else, some good partner stones for labradorite are as follows:
1. Smokey quartz. This stone is very calming, and also lightly grounding as well as protective. Being protected while extending oneself to do psychic work is never a bad idea. Neither is keeping oneself grounded and centered so as not to pick up scattered psychic impressions. The calming property of this stone is necessary in that it stills our mind so that we are open to our psychic. When we're open, we can clearly hear what is being said. When doing psychic readings, my favorite partners are a large labradorite star and a smooth polished double terminated point of very dark Smokey quartz. I hold one gently atop the other in my lap, with both hands touching them.
2. Garnet. Garnet cleanses and strengthens the aura among other things. When doing psychic work, you don't want anything unnecessary in your aura to cause interruptions or disruptions. We pick up things in our aura from others all the time no matter how well we shield, so a garnet is a good friend to have around.
3. Clear quartz crystal. Among so many other things, clear quartz amplifies power and sends it out. As labradorite works with sending out psychic energy, quartz amplifying that can never hurt!
Before doing any psychic work it is good to pause for a moment and do a brief meditation. It only takes a minute or two. Simply sit with feet flat on the floor and take in a few slow calming deep breaths. All any unwanted energies to flow out of your toes and fingers into the earth where they release and vanish away. Then surround yourself with a white light shield, or any other color that makes you feel safe and loved. Then open yourself and begin.
During this time of power, we may wish to work with spirit guides, or the spirits themselves if you're a medium. As the veil is thin, we are closer to the guides and to the spirits of loved ones who've crossed over. Some stones that are wonderful in allowing us to better hear them are:
1. Nephrite jade. Jade comes in two forms. The clear gem like jadeite and the more granular nephrite. I find nephrite, usually the most common type of jade, is actually better for allowing us to better hear guides and spirits. This time of year it is even easier to work with for this.
2. Any type of meteorite works well for this as it comes from other planets/worlds and has powers to assist us in opening to more distant realms.
3. Phantom quartz. This is a somewhat rare form of quartz crystal where a crystal grows inside another crystal. These are wonderful stones to assist us in astral projection. That is extending some of our awareness into the higher realms during meditation, psychic work, or other forms of magical activity. This is done in a milder form by simply wearing or carrying this stone on your person, and to a stronger degree by holding it and slipping your mind inside of it, then out the tip after passing through inner phantom quartz. Going out the tip of the crystal allows our mind to raise slightly from the body and extend. Best done during meditation.
Dangers:
In this bit we shall speak of some of the dangers of the time. The veil between worlds is thin, and this not only allows us access to the powers of the realm of spirit. It also allows those in the realm of spirit easier access to us as well. This can be wonderful when those spirits are friendly and well-meaning, and not so much so when they're not. For this reason I shall list several different types of protective stones as well as the way in which they protect.
1. Hematite. This lovely silvery black stone is wonderful for protection against psychic or spirit attacks in that it is very grounding, thus keeping the floating parts of our mind in the body where they belong.
2. Black tourmaline. This stone is protective in that it transmutes negative energy into positive energy.
3. Black onyx. This stone is also good against psychic attacks but rather than grounding our mind as hematite does, black onyx puts up a gentle protective shield around our energy field. It protects our energy and aura rather than our minds.
4. Jet. This stone originates as pure coal. It is light weight much like amber, and coal black. It protects us physically. It is wonderful when traveling or being out in a high stress situation as it keeps us from physical harm.
5. If you don't feel that you mesh well with hematite an alternative to it's grounding form of protection is black obsidian. In general these two stones are very different, but they both work with grounding protection. Black obsidian an also work well for scrying, so it is also fun this time of year for that aspect of psychic practice.
Dreams:
This is a rather gray area as it can serve us for the good or the bad during this time of year. This is because during our sleep part of our mind drifts to the astral. As much is going on in the astral realms this time of year, AKA the spirit realm, your dreams can go two different ways. They can be informative and useful or dangerous if someone there is messing about with you as low level, mean and bored spirits are often wont to do. As a protection against this, tiger eye is a wonderful stone. It's warm protective energy is a good shield against the nightmares which such troublesome spirits can give us. Sometimes we're not directly attacked, but our dreams are still troubling this time of year. This is because we could be simply wandering into something we do not understand, and tiger eye can protect us from that as well. During this time of year, dreams are often strange and quite vivid. Of course this is due to the veil, and by early NOV, it should be over.
Have a wonderful and magical October, and a blessed Sow'in!
Nyna Shtern lives in Riverside CA with her husband Ishamael, and a magical parakeet named Goblin. She is a medical massage therapist, healer, and past life regressionest. She has worked with the magic of stones, the earth elders, for over fifteen years. They are used in her healing work, and she uses them in wands and jewelry for her personal custom designs which are sold locally and online.