Thursday, January 13, 2011

Angelic Stones, Pillars of Salt & Brimstone

Brimstone, more commonly known as Sulfur, has gotten a bum rap. Most people associate Sulfur with evil or "fire and brimstone". In fact, when you look up brimstone in the dictionary, you will see listed (1) Sulfur; (2) damnation to hell; (3) fire and brimstone: the torments suffered by sinners in Hell. Beyond the Biblical references, we've been told not to handle sulfur as it is toxic.

According to Wikipedia: Sulfur is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Sulfur, in its native form, is a bright yellow crystalline solid. In nature, it can be found as the pure element and as sulfide and sulfate minerals. It is an essential element for life and is found in two amino acids: cysteine and methionine. Its commercial uses are primarily in fertilizers, but it is also widely used in black gunpowder, matches, insecticides and fungicides. Ever wonder why rotten eggs smell like sulfur and vice versa? It is because eggs are high in sulfur because large amounts of this element are necessary for feather formation.

While sulfur can be toxic in certain forms and high doses, it has many beneficial qualities - physically and spiritually. Many thermal springs contain salts, sulfur compounds and gases that are dissolved in the spring water during its passage underground. Sulfur is a cleanser and healing stone when used externally. It will cleanse your aura, cut chords, and purify your environment while also providing protection. It can be used for such physical ailments as eczema, arthritis, muscle, feet and back aches, chemotherapy related discomforts, detoxification as well as respiratory issues.

Speaking of respiratory issues, another mineral that has been tarnished over the years is Salt, as in Lot's wife being turned into a Pillar of Salt. The biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were situated near the Dead Sea. Dead Sea salt refers to salt extracted or taken from the Dead Sea and is a popular ingredient of many common therapeutic bath products including bath salts, salt scrubs, foot scrubs, body wraps, bath bombs, soaps, and a wide variety of other cosmetic products, including makeup.

Halite or Salt produces negative ions and if you have ever experienced the air at a waterfall, on a mountain top, at the seashore, or after a thunderstorm - then you have experienced the results of Negative Ions and you know how the air smells fresher and how much easier it is for you to breathe. It has been reported that deep within a salt mine, the symptoms of asthma, allergies and other respiratory illnesses are relieved, even joint pain is reduced when a person is surrounded by salt crystal rocks. The very dry, negative ion environment of a salt mine helps to clear out the patient's bronchial tubes and sinuses, killing bacteria and other microbes.

On the other end of the scale are the Angel stones which have never had a harsh word against them. Seraphinite, Angelite, Blue Celestite, Azeztulite and Azurite are all treasured stones because of their Heavenly looks and positive qualities.

If I had to pick just one stone for its Angelic qualities, it would be Seraphinite. The "feathery wings" of this stone immediately puts you at ease and calms you when looking at it. This heavenly stone raises you to a very high spiritual vibration. On its own or combined with Infinite, it is a stone for self-healing at all levels, i.e., spiritually, physically, emotionally and mentally. Seraphinite allows one to grow at a steady and safe pace, imparting confidence.

A more subtle stone for reaching a high vibration and contacting the Angelic Realm, would be Angelite. This stone is formed from compressed Blue Celestite. This stone is a representative of brotherhood, peace and deeper attunement for healers while heightening perceptions and providing protection.

Azurite, also known as the "Stone of Heaven" is another stone for raising your vibration but with a strong link to Earth and the physical body. It is an excellent stone for the mind and mental processing because it challenges your concept of reality and belief system. This stone allows one to see the gray areas more clearly and remove the adamant black and white lines of rigidity. Empathy, compassion, removal of fears are just a few other benefits of this spiritual stone.
Last but certainly not least is Azeztulite. This rare stone is one of the highest vibrational stones to work with and can give you a headache when you first use it.

Azeztulite is a powerful healer and teacher as it imparts so much in a short period of time and raises your kundalini quickly. It is best to work with other clear quartz crystals before moving on to this powerful stone. On a physical level, Azeztulite will aid with cellular healing and is beneficial for fighting cancer.

The Many Metaphysical Properties of Tourmaline

Ah, Tourmaline, one of the gemstone world's greatest unrecognized treasures. This stone comes in a rainbow of colors and each color has its own unique healing and metaphysical properties, in addition to the family (or generic) properties of tourmaline.

Most people are familiar with black tourmaline and how it captures and transmutes negativity. Combined with selenite, black tourmaline is used to grid an area for a protective shield. .But did you know that Tourmaline in general is purifying and promotes self-confidence? That all the colors of Tourmaline will help you to understand yourself and be more aware of others. It reduces fear, calms paranoia, brings compassion, inspiration, tolerance and prosperity to the holder.

As far as the general healing characteristics of Tourmaline goes, it is a great detoxifier, combats bronchitis, diabetes, emphysema, pleurisy, pneumonia, dissolves blood clots and relieves ear aches.

All colors of tourmaline are beneficial to plants and helps to keep pests away while encouraging the plant's growth when buried in the soil near the plant. Green Tourmaline and Watermelon Tourmaline are especially useful when dealing with the plant kingdom. These two varieties will keep a plant company while promoting growth and abundance - especially with plants which flourish and reproduce better when in a large group. So if it works really well with plants, just think what it will do with an herbal remedy!

If Watermelon and Green Tourmaline are good for plants, they are even more potent when working with humans! They both assist in bringing inner peace and harmony, healing emotional hurts, while also teaching patience, diplomacy and aid with decision making, clarity of thought and wisdom. These gemstones reduce fear, panic attacks, depression, stress and nervous conditions. Green Tourmaline is especially helpful in stressful situations by quieting the mind and allowing you to relax and sleep. Colitis, diarrhea, constipation, weight loss and exhaustion are just a few other conditions this gemstone will help treat.

Physically Watermelon Tourmaline will help to regenerate nerves and muscles. Other properties include strengthening of the thymus, gall bladder, liver, heart, lungs, eyes, brain and intestines. Have dyslexia, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Aids, paralysis or other debilitating disease? Try working with Watermelon Tourmaline and see what happens.

If you are dealing with grief or insecurity in love, you may want to work with Pink Tourmaline. This gentle stone promotes love, release of pain and destructive habits, relaxation, compassion and healing on emotional and psychological levels. On a physical healing level, it is said to balance your endocrine system, as well as treat heart, lung and skin conditions.

Need help with your studies, business or intellectual pursuits? Yellow Tourmaline is a great stone with which to work. It can help combat Alzheimers and senility. This stone is especially suited for energy work and chakra balancing.

Spiritually, Indicolite or Blue Tourmaline is a good stone for meditation, awareness, inner peace, visualization, spiritual freedom and self expression. This stone can be used as a diagnostic tool to figure out what is wrong spiritually, physically, emotionally, or mentally. It helps one to release emotional blockages and deal with grief more strongly than the other colors as it is more spiritually attuned than pink, green, watermelon or yellow. This blue stone works best on the thyroid, fluid imbalances, kidneys, bladder, bacterial and viral infections, sinuses and burns. Night sweats a problem? Put an Indicolite under your pillow. Unfortunately, Indicolite is expensive and hard to find.

Of course, for an even higher spiritual level, purple-violet tourmaline is the best choice. It raises your consciousness, promotes compassion, empathy, devotion to loved ones, and assists with past life healing. This purple stone stimulates creativity and intuition.

Like Rose Quartz? You're Going To Love Morganite

Not familiar with Morganite? You may just want to get to know this stone that has many wonderful qualities. Not only is it pretty to look at, it gives off a calming energy as well as has many physical and spiritual characteristics. You are probably more familiar with it's cousins aquamarine and emerald.

For people who have a negative outlook on life or a defeatist attitude, Morganite would be a good stone with which to work to change their pessimistic nature. This stone encourages loving thoughts and actions, removes blockages of karmic emotional pain and releases pent up emotions. It will cleanse your heart as well as open it up to unconditional love. Morganite will also help to attract love to your life, but use it with an amethyst to encourage the right kind of love.

Morganite helps to fight narrow mindedness, egotistic tendencies, and over analysis. This pink stone replaces these harmful tendencies with wisdom, clear thought, an appreciation of different perspectives as well as patience and tolerance. It is a stone to help reduce stress which could lead to illness.

On a physical/healing level, Morganite is good in combating respiratory ailments such as tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis. It also helps to detoxify your circulatory system and provides help to low oxygenated blood cells. This stone is beneficial to the elimination system - especially the stomach, intestines and liver.

If you have experienced a concussion or have problems with your spine, meditating with Morganite can assist your healing. Need to calm your mind and slow down your thoughts? Put a Morganite under your pillow - it will act as a sedative.

On a spiritual level, this pink gemstone will equalize your soul and body's vibrations to realign and balance them. This is also a stone that is beneficial to a responsible person who uses it in soul retrieval. Soul retrieval/ recovery is where a person feels they have lost a part of their energetic, spiritual, emotional and/or psychic self. It is not the biblical soul but all parts of the person, including their physical self. Often the separation is caused by emotional trauma.