Youthful stone of laughter
Bring about Transformation
Energy of swirling lace
Encourage truthful communication

There are several different forms of Lace agate and depending on the source can go by several different names.  The Book of Stones and The Crystal Bible list Blue Lace as coming from South Africa.  Laughter Lace or Happy Lace was known to the Babylonians, Greeks, and Egyptians.  Mexican Lace comes from Chihuahua Mexico.  It, in general, is considered to be a young stone.  This chalcodony was formed around 65 to 90 million years ago when magma cavities filled with silica rich water.  This left silicon dioxide infused with other minerals in swirling layers that we now call crazy lace agate.  Crazy Lace agate has a Mohs hardness of 7.

Mexican Crazy Lace
I am going to split this article into two sections, starting with Mexican crazy lace.  This is primarily found in Mexico and is mostly creamy white with brilliant bands of black, grey, yellow, gold, brown, and red that are caused by traces of iron, aluminum, and other trace minerals.  This is a bright, happy, and optimistic stone.  This gem encourages mental agility, flexibility, and liveliness.  It encourages balance between the emotional energy, the physical energy, and the intellectual energy.  It gently grounds happiness, self-confidence, and joy in your life.  The lacy patterns in this stone encourage a flexible and circulating flow of energy in all aspects.It may help you gain endurance, courage, and self empowerment.  Its optimistic vibrations can help transform negative outlooks and habits into positive patterns.  It is, overall, a gentle and happy companion.

Blue Lace

Blue Lace is the form of crazy lace that was covered in my reference books.  This is primarily found in South Africa.  This is a stone of finding your voice and effective communication.  It is a calming and peaceful gem that connects to the higher dimensions.  When we understand that our words have the power to create our reality, it is important to use those words and thoughts widely. Blue lace is a stone of truthful and clear self-expression.  It may help with discerning truth from deception.  The lacy patterns in this gem may help dissolve old negative patterns so they can be transformed into positive habits that create a beautiful future.

Whether you choose Mexican Lace, or Blue Lace, you will find a stone of unique beauty and energy.

To check out my crazy lace and other gems, poke the button.
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Power found where the lines ley
With the Gaia connection
Ancient wisdom in Earth magic
​Mindful of conservation

Picture jasper is a micro-crystaline form of silicon dioxide with a Mohs hardness of 6.5 to 7.  These stones in the quartz family are usually petrified mud flows and contain a high level of inclusions of other minerals.  The most prevalent being iron.  The variations of minerals in the layers of flow create a "picture" of a beautiful "landscape" locked into the stone.  The most common color of this stone is in the brown tones, but it can be found in gold, red tones, black, blue, ivory, and green.  Picture jasper and closely related variations are found in many parts of the world.

The primary energy of picture jasper is that of ancient wisdom.  This earthy stone is a connection to Gaia, the Earth Goddess.  It is believed to be a portal to the stone records with hidden messages from the past.  It is believed to be the Earth Mother speaking to her children.  The stone encourages us to listen to the stories and the wisdom of the earth and the ancient past.

This stone of earth magic has been used by energy practitioners for a number of purposes.  Some use picture jasper to locate ley lines and power points of the earth. They use this information to set up ceremonial spaces and home locations.  It used to protect and ground shamanic journeys. It helps to absorb negative energy and transmute it to 
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Common gem and genius stone
Bring order to chaos
Fluorescence with black light
Clarity, balance, and focus

Fluorite is one of the more common gem stones available.  It is frequently found along side deposits of quartz, calcite, and barite that were formed in hydrothermal veins.  It is a relatively soft cubic crystal with a Mohs hardness of 4.  These calcium fluoride crystals are one of the sources of fluorite for industrial uses.  This beautiful gem comes in a number of colors used in jewelry including purple, clear, green, pink, red, blue, yellow, and black.

Fluorite is considered by some to be the genius stone.  There are a number of ways that this gem is believed to enhance your mental life.  It helps bring clarity of thought and bring order to the chaos in your mind.  It can enhance focus and concentration.  With its clarity and discernment comes the power of choice.

This is a highly spiritual gem with a strong connection to human energy fields and the spiritual realms.  Many find that it expands consciousness.  If you are seeking spiritual or psychic awareness, this may be a stone of enhancement.  It helps to harmonize the mind and spirit.  It can assist in the perception of the energy fields and the ability to shift this energy.

Fluorite tends to be a protective gem.  It tends to absorb negative and difficult energies and emotions.  It is often used to purify the space.  Many people find it helpful to have fluorite near electronic equipment.  It is also used for psychic protection and to clear old energy from the environment.

Fluorite is one of the more interesting gems that I work with.  It is one of the stones that fluoresces under UV or "black" light.  The term fluorescence comes from fluorite.  Not only have I played with my UV light, but during one particularly strong solar storm, I noticed that my fluorite palm stone was glowing.  This rainbow fluorite is quite heady to work with and seems to have the ability to connect to the energy fields.
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As for the specific colors:
CLEAR - enhances intuition, spiritual connection and clarity.
BLUE - aids communication of truth and rational thinking, focus, and growth.
GREEN - is the heart stone, connecting the heart to the mind.
PURPLE - encourages peace and spiritual connection.  It aids meditation.
YELLOW - connects the solar plexus to the mind and enhances psychic ability and intuition.
RAINBOW - connects to intuition, the spiritual realms, and alternate realities.

When the ocean turns to stone
The mermaids give up their treasure
The goddess of light and dark
Voices truth and wisdom in equal measure

Aquamarine is one of the birthstones for March.  This beautiful blue green gem is a beryl, the same family as emerald.  It is beryllium aluminum silicate with a Mohs hardness of 7.5 to 8.  The ocean blue of this gem comes from traces of iron.  The name aquamarine, comes from the Latin for "water of the sea".  Some of the best sources for aquamarine are Brazil, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Australia, Kenya, Madagascar, and the US.

This stone of ancient use was believed to be the treasure of the mermaids, giving protection to sailors.  It is also one of the stones of Merlin, opening the doors of magic and psychic ability.  According to tinyrituals.com , this "mermaid stone is a song from the deep and brings whispers of salt-water fables..."  It truly is a symbol of deep ocean, deep emotions, and deep spirituality and happiness.  

Aquamarine carries the energy of hope, compassion, and calm balance emotions.  It represents the Goddess and the divine feminine.  It honors the deep feminine, both the light and the dark.  This stone connects to deep ocean energy and the cycle of life.  It is a stone of self worth, courage, empowerment.

This magical stone is believed to enhance mental clarity and focus.  It is believed to give the person possessing it wisdom, increased intellect, and access to inner knowledge.  This is a good stone to use if you desire to increase your intuition or clairvoyance.  It can encourage emotional healing and the deep connection to the emotions and the truth found in your heart.  In doing so, it aids in speaking your truth in an honest and healthy way.

If you are feeling challenged, aquamarine can bring hope.  It is a stone of protection that shields from negative energy.  The Greeks believed that it protected sailors from drowning.  Some believed that it protected them from toxins.  It might even help release your negative patterns.

I encourage you to check out this little bit of ocean turned to stone.  Dive into the depths of this beautiful gem and get in touch with your sacred feminine.

Petrified wood is a gem that was formed when the ancient tree was killed and buried in a fine silt before it could decay.  The organic wood was slowly replaced by minerals as it slowly degraded.  In most places where petrified wood is found, the mineralization occurred 250 million to 65 million years ago with silicon dioxide.  Although this can vary, most petrified wood is agatized and has a Mohs hardness of 6.5 to 7.  Some of the most spectacular petrified wood comes from Morocco and the petrified forest in Arizona, USA.

Petrified wood symbolizes strength, stability, and patience.  This reflects the fossilization process itself, which takes thousands of years to replace the original wood with more stable stone.  This slow process of transformation and stabilization is one of balance and time.

Energetically, petrified wood is seen as the connection between the physical and the spiritual world.  It is the connection between life on earth and the earth herself.  Many believe that petrified wood gives access to ancient knowledge, ancient earth energy, and ancestral knowledge.  

It helps you connect to your inner wisdom and your psychic abilities.  It encourages thrust in your intuition and wisdom, and trust in the flow of life.  Petrified wood facilitates past life recall and the resolution of blockages.  This is a gem of transformation, encouraging change and growth.  It also lends its strength and stability during those changes.  It encourages integrity and endurance.

Whether plain or spectacular, petrified wood can ground you in the balance and wisdom of earth's cycles.
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Creativity and spirituality
Quartz of a purple hue
Intuition and clarity
Balance for all you do

The birthstone for February is amethyst.  This quartz in beautiful purple hues has a Mohs hardness of 7 and the same chemical composition as clear quartz, silicon dioxide.  The purple tones come primarily from traces of iron in the matrix with possible additions of manganese or aluminum depending on the source of information.  Citrine and amethyst are closely related and are often found in the same deposit, the difference being the amount of irradiation that the stone is exposed to.  This relatively common form of quartz is found in many parts of the world, including Brazil, Canada, Bolivia, Mexico, India, Madagascar, and the US.

Amethyst has long been seen as a stone of the clergy and of royalty.  There is evidence of its use in jewelry and ceremonial items dating back at least 25,000 years.  The Greeks and 
Romans believed that it would protect from drunkenness, so they added amethyst to their wine goblets.  In some cases, they carved the wine goblet from amethyst.  The word 'amethyst' comes from the Greek word for not drunken.  This gem is associated with the god of wine, Dionysus for the Greeks and Bacchus for the Romans.

In today's world, amethyst is associated with passion, creativity and spirituality.  It is seen as a gem that can help calm passion into a focused and productive creativity.  This is the type of creativity that is found "in the zone".  This is the passionate pursuit that is associated with wealth, prosperity, and abundance.

Amethyst is seen as a stone of spiritual connection and protection.  It is a stone of peace of mind, calming the mind and the emotions.  This aids with meditation, mental discipline, and increased intuition.  Those seeking spiritual insight and wisdom often use amethyst as an aid.  It may also help you access your psychic gifts.

Amethyst is one of the gems that I love to work with.  I wear it as a part of my jewelry set to encourage creativity.  I also find that it encourages calmness during difficult times.  I have put a piece in the crown position of my chakra set to aid in connecting with universal energy and spiritual wisdom.  It could also be used as a gem for the third eye to encourage intuition and psychic gifts.  When I work with amethyst to create jewelry, I find that I am a little more focused and calm than I ordinarily would be.

No matter why you choose an amethyst, for beauty, for creativity, or for spirituality, this gem calms and balances.  It is a harmonious and gentle stone that most people find beneficial.
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Earth's own Fire
For hope and compassion
Courage and power
Of creative manifestion

fiery garnet is the perfect balance for icy January.  This birthstone of January is actually a class of stones with a Mohs hardness of about 7 to 7.5.  Garnets are, in general, aluminum silicate plus crystals.  The plus being other elements in the molecule.  According to Robert Simmons in The Book of Stones, there are six types of garnet of note.  Some of them are very common.  Garnets of some sort can be found in many places around the world, even in the "flint" mines of Ohio, USA.

Garnets have been used for jewelry and metaphysical purposes for thousands of years.  There is ancient evidence of garnet jewelry in Egypt, Sumeria, and Europe.  They were used for signet rings and to mark the wearer as clergy or nobility in Europe.  In the Americas, garnet has long been used for accessories and ritual.

Garnet is believed to be a grounding stone that both grounds spiritual energy and draws energy from earth's own fire, to bring solid energy into your life.  It is a stone of strength and courage, compassion and hope.  It helps you tap into your creativity, love, and personal power.  Many use garnets to help manifest dreams and goals, and to remove the blocks to that manifestation.  It is a stone of passion, inspiration, and self-confidence.  It is both spiritually expanding and grounding in feelings of safety and abundance.

Each of the types of garnet caries it's own special energy.

GROSSULAR - is a garnet in the shades of green.  It is a grounding stone of manifestation, abundance, and wealth.  It promotes creativity and love.
SPESSARTINE - is the golden to brownish garnet of the sun.  It attracts love, enhances charisma, and encourages creativity and truth.  It is the garnet of the mind.
ALMANDINE - is the purple/red garnet that is most common.  It is earthy and grounding, giving strength and stamina.  It tends to ground spiritual energy and help with past life exploration.
​RHODOLITE - is a clear beautiful red garnet that acts on the heart and base chakras.  It connects to inner guides and guardians and helps create alignment, promotes intuition, and inspiration.
ANDRALITE - or Black Andralite - is a dynamic garnet that both grounds and finds magic and mystery.  It connects to the collective unconscious and your personal power and life force.
Uvarovite - is is a green garnet of heart and healing.  This is a stone of spirit and relationships, abundance and prosperity.  This garnet is calm and peaceful.

​I love garnet.  I love working with it.  When I create jewelry with both Almandine and Rhodalite, I find myself more focused, calm, and energized.
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A new discovery
On Mount Kilimanjaro
For transformation
Event from the cosmos

Tanzanite is a newly discovered form of zoisite.  This birthstone of December is a blue calcium aluminum silicate with a Mohs hardness of 6 to 7.  At this time, natural tanzanite is only found in one place, the volcanic basin of Mount Kilimanjaro.  It was discovered by a Masai herder in 1967 after an intense lightning storm caused a brush fire in the basin of Merlani.  The heat from the lightning and fire had transformed the normal brown zoisite in the area into a brilliant blue to blue-violet gem stone.  Currently, most of the tanzanite on the market is cultured.

Because of the way that it was originally formed, tanzanite carries the energy of transformation and spiritual connection and awakening.  The transformation of the stone helps you to break old patterns and transmute them into habits of greater harmony and higher good.  It encourages divine healing, inner calm, and an open mind.  It is believed to help activate psychic ability, and a higher consciousness,  It is a stone of truth and authenticity.  Tanzanite is believed to contain the teachings from other dimensions.

According to tinyrituals.com, tanzanite connect to the third eye to the throat chakra.  According to Robert Simmons, The Book of Stones, it connects the heart chakra and the third eye.  Either way, tanzanite encourages wisdom, authenticity, and living in integrity.

Sacred stone
Of ancient use
Give the courage
To speak your truth
The Dine' say
Tis to protect from harm
And used in prayer
Bring rain to the farm

One of the birth stones for December is calming and beautiful turquoise.  This favorite stone for Native American jewelry is a copper aluminum phosphate mineral with a Mohs hardness of 5 to 6.  True turquoise ranges from a greenish-blue to a bright robin egg blue to light sky blue.  The blue tones in turquoise come from the copper in the mineral.  If the turquoise has greenish shades, it has traces of iron.  What is known as White Buffalo has no copper or iron.

The word turquoise is derived from the old French term, pierre turquoise, Turkish stone.  While these gems were not actually mined in Turkey, they were purchased for the European market from the Turkish bazaars.

This gem has one of the longest histories of use.  There is evidence of jewelry in Egypt that dates to 5500 BC.  There is evidence of mining in the US dating back 2000 years.  In modern times, turquoise has been mined in Iran, Afghanistan, Australia, Tibet, Egypt, China, Mexico, and the US.  Do to the popularity of this gem, many of the historic mines are exhausted.

This stone has been considered sacred by several cultures.  The Egyptians buried their dead with turquoise.  The Aztecs used it in ceremonial masks and other sacred icons.  In Tibet, it was used in prayer beads, wheels, and bells.  In North America, the Dine', Apache, and Zuni used turquoise to aid in prayer.  The Dine' used it in prayer for rain, the Zuni for protection, and the Apache to increase the accuracy of their weapons.  In many Native American traditions, a gift of turquoise brings abundance.

Turquoise is a stone of gentle and calming energy that is believed to bring balance and connection to the throat and the third eye.  It is also believed to bring balance and connection between the spiritual and the physical.  It helps bring serenity and peace, in part, by quieting the inner critic.  This calmness of the mind helps open up the mind, and aids in spiritual transformation.  Some find that turquoise is a calming aid to meditation and encourages intuition, wisdom, and creativity.  As turquoise balances the throat chakra, it encourages courageous expression of our highest truth.  It helps you find the strength to live that truth, and communicate it with integrity and compassion on all levels.

The Tibetans believed that turquoise is sentient and becomes an extension of the person that handles it.  Many cultures believe that turquoise brings good fortune and peace.  It has been used by kings, warriors, and shamans for protection.  It is used by some to aid in past life exploration.

​It just might be, as some believe, the "Divine gift that fell from the heaven."
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Yellow quartz mimics topaz
With the fire of the sun
Change of habits encourage joy
​And confidence all all in one

As we go into the dark time of the year in the northern hemisphere, we look towards the sunny stones to brighten our days.  One of the birthstones for November is citrine.  This is a yellow variety of quartz, silicon dioxide, with traces of iron.  Like most of the quartz family, citrine has a Mohs hardness of 7.  

Natural citrine is usually a pale yellow, like the one in the necklace above, but can range into the orange or brownish orange.  Citrine is often confused with topaz or yellow sapphire.  Natural citrine is found in Scotland, Spain, Madagascar, Russia, Brazil, and the US.  That said, most of the citrine on the market is heat treated amethyst and will usually have a brighter color than natural citrine, like the one below.
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The word citrine comes from citron, the French word for lemon.  Like lemon, it brings the energy of the sun into the dark time of the year.  It is believed to encourage optimism and enhance moods and creativity.  It can help relieve depression and dispel destructive habits, bringing joy and energy into your life.  Some use citrine to increase clarity of thought, self esteem, and self confidence.

Citrine may be a good stone to help raise your vibration to a higher level.  It helps transmute negative energy into a more positive and useful form.  It enhances personal power and encourages healthy use of that power.  It can be used to promote balance on all levels.  Citrine is often used to open and balance the sacral chakra or the third eye chakra.  I use it as an aid for manifestation.

Citrine is a less expensive alternative to topaz for many purposes.  This beautiful stone is frequently set in silver or copper.  These and more gems can be found in
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