From : Tandika Star 93:9600/5 Thu 25 Mar 93 19:56 Subj : USING STONES #1 ДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДД

From : Tandika Star 93:9600/5 Thu 25 Mar 93 19:56 Subj : USING STONES #1 ДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДД VARIOUS USES FOR STONES Besides surrounding your environment with something beautiful to behold, just how can you put stone energies into daily use? Actually, there are several ways, depending on what you wish to accomplish. Single specimens can be used as decorative accents, AND as "air freshners". Smaller, tumbled stones can be carried in your pocket. A favorite way of introducing the energy into your aura is with jewelry. In addition, stones can be incorporated into magical workings, placed on an altar or fashioned into working tools. Finally, they can also be placed anywhere on the body for healing. If you are fortunate enough to live in a high mineral area, you may have a few large specimens that you wish to keep out all of the time. Especially good for energizing your home would be large Quartz clusters, either clear or Amethyst. Petrified Wood is protective and Malachite is good for business concerns. If you have smaller specimens, try placing them in a bowl on your coffee table, arranged on a bed of sea salt. This is a very pretty way to display them, and is purifying. Carrying a piece of tumbled Obsidian in your pocket or purse will help to ward off negativity. (Around here, Obsidian is called "dark sucker"...because it "sucks up" negative vibrations.) You may find this exceptionally useful when you go shopping or at work. In addition, a favorite "pocket stone" is Rose Quartz. This stone is the "love me" stone and encourages others to treat you well. Herkimer Diamonds (a form of clear Quartz) are the "happy" stone. They are like having a little bubble of joy in your pocket. Throughout history, stones have been incorporated into jewelry for both healing and magical benefit. Now days, there is a vast amount of stones available already mounted, ready-to-wear, so to speak. Wearing a pendant made from Rutilated Quartz will help draw the higher self down to the lower Chakras, making your intuition more available for mundane things. Lapis earrings will place the stone almost at the third-eye area. In addition, you may wear a ring with a stone for a special healing purpose, such as a Topaz or other yellow stone for more energy and physical stamina. Moonstone is one of the Wiccan stones that works well for ritual use, as it is directly associated with the Goddess. Lapis is a stone that is valuable when working on a psychic level. Garnet will help the Magician tap into additional energy to assist in ritual work. These stones can be worn, or placed on an altar. They can also be pressed into the soft wax of a candle. In addition, they can be shaped into, or incorporated in working tools. A simple wand can be made from a silver or brass tube, filled with salt, herbs, etc. and with stones mounted on either end. It is not uncommon to find wands made in this manner with Quartz crystals mounted on them. For healing purposes, stones can be placed directly on the body. Simply lie down in a restive, reclining position and place the stones over the affected area, or on the relative Chakras. For a simple, energizing "nap", place a Quartz crystal on the Heart Chakra and any clear yellow stone on the Solar Plexis. Rest in a comfortable position, with the stones in place for 15 minutes. For longer term therapy, small polished stones can be taped in place, under clothing. (Try Scotch-Magic tape, as this type causes less allergic reaction to the "sticky".) They can also be tied into place with a bandana, but try to make certain that the stone is actually touching the skin. However, there should not be so much pressure that it is uncomfortable. These are just a few suggestions of ways of incorporating stone energies. I certainly hope to hear more from YOU...about how you are using Mother Nature's gifts to enhance your own lives... --- Subj : STREAK The streak of a mineral is its color when it is ground into a fine powder. This may be done by crusing a mineral fragment, placing the powder on a sheet of white paper, and observing the color. A more common (and convient) procedure is to rub the mineral firmly across a tile of unglazed white porcelain (called a streak plate) to produce a line of powder whose color is called the streak of the mineral. This property may be distinctive when the color of the mineral is different from that of its streak, since the streak varies only slightly from one specimen to another. Streak is most useful for the identification of dark-colored minerals such as metallic sulfides and oxides; its usefulness is more limited when testing light-colored sulfates, carbonates, or silicates. Also, minerals having a hardness exceeding that of the streak plate (about 6-1/2) cannot be tested in this manner. From "The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals" --- Subj : HARDNESS ДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДД The hardness of a mineral indicates how well it resists scratching or abrasion. It is measured on a numerical scale, from 1 (softest) to 10 (hardest): 1 talc 2 gypsum 3 calcite 4 fluorite 5 apatite 6 orthoclase feldspar 7 quartz 8 topaz 9 corundum 10 diamond This scale was devised by the German mineralogist Frederick Mohs (1773-1839), who selected these ten minerals because they are common or readily available (with the possible exception of diamond, hardness 10). Each mineral in the Mohs scale can scratch any mineral with the same number or a lower number, and can itself be scratched by any mineral with a higher number. A standard hardness testing kit, containing a labeled sample of each of the ten minerals on the Mohs scale (except diamond), can be ordered from most scientific supply houses. The numbers used in the Mohs scale are somewhat arbitrary. Diamond, the hardest known substance, is about four times as hard as corundum (hardness 9), but corundum is less than twice as hard as topaz (hardness 8). Hardness is very useful in mineral identification. To test a mineral's hardness, select a fresh firm surface on the back or underside of the specimen, so that scratching will not spoil the specimen for your collection. Holding the specimen firmly, attempt to scratch it with a test point -- a sharp fragment of mineral from the test kit, beginning with the hardest mineral (corundum) and working down the scale. Press the test mineral firmly but lightly against the specimen. If the test point is harder than the specimen, you should feel a definite "catch" or "bite" as it cuts into the surface. If the specimen is harder than the test point, the point will slide across the surface. If the point is only slightly harder, it may barely catch the surface without digging in. In casual field work, determinations of hardness may be cruder. Often the only equipment used is a fingernail (hardness 2-1/2), or a penny (3), a knife blade or fragment of window glass (5-1/2 to 6), a section of a hardened steel file (7+), or a small piece of emergy cloth (between 8 and 9). From "The Audubon Society Field Guide to North Americn Rocks and Minerals" --- Subj : Magical Stone Information ДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДД Chuck and Pat Haynes found this file when they were "browsing" thru the backlog of files on their system. I thought y'all might be interested in it. (And if anyone knows who wrote it, or what the source was, I would appreciate you letting me know, since there was NO indication in the file.) MAGICAL PROPERTIES OF STONES Since the earliest forms of civilization developed, men have given mystical as well as magical properties to stones. They have been worn as amulets or carried on the person with inscriptions as a Talisman. Natural oddities such as the HOL(E)Y STONE were worn strung around the neck. The stone being a natural formation in which a hole had formed in the stone passing through it. LODESTONE which is naturally magnetic was believed to possess a spirit and was kept as an attractor of good and wealth. Stones have been divided into two main groups in the realm of magical properties, these falling into a harmony of correspondence with many other things. The first catagory is ACTIVE. This is the same as the YANG or the MALE. Obviously on an equal ground with this is the PASSIVE, similar to YIN, and the FEMALE. Neither is considered to overpower since the two must be equal to exist in harmony. In the first catagory, ACTIVE, the colors that are associated with it are red, orange, yellow, yellow green and gold. The correspondences here are to fire, heat, warmth, Sun. Each of these used as a color of healing would have certain associations to parts of the body. Red is associated with the blood stream and the heart. In the past it was used to heal wounds or stop bleeding as well as draw blood to the place the stone has been put over. It was also worn as an amulet by a person suffering from anemia or lacking energy. It is associated with the SOUTH, and MARS. Yellow is associated with the mind and healing or speaking. It was believed to aid in mental growth to improve the thought process. Yellow was used to arouse the person or calm the nerves. The East and Mercury. Orange being the combination of red and yellow was believed to give drive and cleverness to the individual as well as shrewdness in business and dealings with others. It has been said to increase the ability to see through plots and intrigues. The southeast and Jupiter. Gold and its off shades though not really a gem has been associated with the Sun and the curative power of this sphere. Some of the off shoots of this are TIGEREYE and CATSEYE as well as the pyrites (Fool's Gold). Due to its softness gold was used for many intricate amulets and magical jewelry which were believed to give the wearer the power of the Sun. The 'EYE' types of stones were also believed to give 'second sight'. On the PASSIVE side we find the softer tones. Blue was used as a stone for cooling fever and calming the mind. It was also believed to be an inducer of sleep. Blue stones were believed to be able to cure high blood pressure and to sooth pain. It was believed to be an antiseptic and was used against fever as well as abscess or infection. The West, Taurus and Virgo. Purple or violet is a combination of red and blue and its associations are to mysticism and things of spiritual nature. It calms and prevents explosive tempers as well as induces sleep. Purple was also used as a cure for the cold. It is associated with the Southwest and Neptune or Pisces. Brown stones give consolidation and a bringing together of plans. It is a counteractive against restlessness and the feelings of giddiness. It is a stabilizer of the mind and a giver of direction. It was used to give steadiness to the personality. It was associated with the North and Capricorn. White stones were used as purifiers and to remove poisons. White stones of magical purpose were said to have affinity with the higher self and the soul or etheric body. White was given the center of all things as its magical place since it contains all colors and yet favors none. It has been loosely associated with the Moon. Black stones were given the correspondence of abstract thinking and self control. Seriousness was associated with these stones. Black was also associated with the North as a realm of mystery and a place of studious learning. The black stones are associated with Saturn. Silver is also given correspondence of healing as well as magical protection. It is also attributed with increasing psychic ability and intuition. It is said to influence change in people as well as instill a person with adaptability. It is strongly associated with the Moon. ---