Candles or Crystals? Candles AND Crystals

(It’s been forever since I’ve written: mom was hospitalized for two weeks then moved to a nursing home, where she’s doing much better. I had a filling and ended up with double vision and visit to the ER. Husband had prostate issues. And then there’s the ongoing political situation in the USA, I am doing my part in calling, fundraising and taking action for a better future in line with the ideals of Liberty, Justice for all and compassion over cruelty and greed. )

I love to light candles. They’re my go-to for honoring deity or spirit, for magick, for meditating and for setting the mood.

I’ve used votives, pillars, and the kind that come in jars.

The downside for me, is that I normally do my woo woo before I get ready for work, then halfway to work I worry I left a lit candle in the house. This probably speaks to my need to be fully present at all times as well as trusting myself that I did indeed, extinguish the flame.

Soooooooooo many times I’ve turned around and gone home and the candles weren’t lit.

Do you trust lit 7 day candles when you leave the house? This is not a problem outside and it’s obviously summer here in Ohio. I can’t wrap my head around leaving a lit candle in the house while I’m gone.

My current solution is to exchange candles for appropriately colored stones. Fortunately, my husband has gifted me with several wands and pillars that stand upright and serve as taper candles.

Not my stash, but pretty close.

But I’m not picky – I have bowls of stones that can serve in place of candles. Thanks to Melody’s epic “Love is in the Earth” I have a ready reference for qualities that I may want to incorporate into my intentions as I work.

I currently have a pie plate of small candles for a special intention – it’s outside for now- but I want to keep this work going for a year. It may end up in my basement as the most safe spot for it, even though it’s lit for less than 30 minutes at time. As long as I don’t set off the fire alarm. I probably won’t….

Best case on these workings (for me) is to use both outside when I can, for as long as I can, as well as the garden and mother nature. But come winter I may move exclusively to candles unless the working is on the weekend when I can be present the entire burn.

Summer Solstice Grid

Today is Summer Solstice and a full moon. My annual practice is to gather all my stones and crystals and put them outside, near my garden, to recharge them. And to give them a rest from me.

Last year I made an error of judgement by putting my himalayan salt wand in with the group. The dew disintegrated most of it onto the other stones, and to the chain of a pendant.  Lesson learned!

Some of my stones were already involved in a new grid, and I left the grid intact. Many of these stones carry the property of not needing a cleansing, particularly the kyanite and the selenite, and the rest have not been used for a specific purpose that would require cleansing. I just like to give them the break to be outside, in the sun and moon, and honor them.

So, back to the grid.

I don’t do a lot of grids, but later this summer, the RNC is coming to Cleveland,

Shout out to Cleveland Cavaliers 2016 NBA Champions

not all that far from my home. As with any large gathering of people, there is going to be a lot of energy coming from the city, and I want my home and area to stay calm and peaceful, so I constructed a grid designed for this purpose.

If you aren’t a crystal enthusiast, you may wonder what the heck I mean. They’re rocks right?  Well, there’s a couple things going on here. All matter vibrates. Crystals and stones also carry vibrations. My main source is Melody’s “Love is the Earth” book, (Melody is a geologist who conducted tests on the rocks/crystals) but she is one of many reliable resources for gems, stones and crystals. Buying a crystal, alone, won’t change much, but working with them, with intention, will bring results. ( I know, is it the stone or your intention? HA Chicken or egg? )

So, since I am have historically been very bad about setting boundaries, I wanted to set a boundary for any crappiness that oozed away from the convention. Do I worry that an errant supporter will come to my house? No, I have a fence for that. I am talking about the kind of energy that makes people less aware of their surroundings, and results in fender-benders and careless accidents. That, I don’t want to infiltrate.

Now about my grid. It’s placed on a mandala I made from – ta da – my favorite childhood toy, Spirograph        .

The center stone is a selenite wand to hold the space of highest vibration. Surrounding it are stones for several intentions. Black stones are grounding, so there are four in a circle to ground any errant energy that come flying near us. There’s a kyanite and several hematite in this grid, plus one is a snowflake obsidian.The pink stone is rhodochrosite, for healing and love, the blue is lapis lazuli, for righteous speech, the orange is carnelian, for the highest level of creativty.  They are connected by clear quartz points, who act as amplifiers to that energy. There is one smokey quartz wand in there – this is also a stone that alleviates negative energy.
My point here is to stress that what you set as an intention, does matter. Will these stones, alone, prevent something weird from occuring? No. But by having a visual reminder of my intention-right speech, compassion, creativity and safety- I am setting myself up for a successful experience. Ps. You can just pick up a fine looking rock, and have a great experience working with it.