Crystal Magick, Meditation, and Manifestation: A Crystal Book of Shadows

By Amethyst Qu

Beyond crystal healing...

Amethyst Qu shares 101 days of secret crystal teachings in her new crystal magick book of shadows.

 

Natural crystals, minerals, gems, and fossils captivate our psyche with their beauty. Yet the folklore of the ancient wise ones tells us these treasures of the Earth are more than just beautiful specimens meant to sit on a shelf.

 

You are drawn to these crystals for a purpose. Our stones are friendly, helpful natural citizens of our Earth who want to partner with us to make our world a better place. Crystals are a gift from our Earth prized by shamans and seekers all over the globe from the dawn of time. 

 

Follow one seeker as she shares her personal experiences of how she uses metaphysical crystals to gain secret knowledge, enhance psychic ability, and manifest a more fulfilling life

 

You do not have to be an advanced occultist to use the wise, gentle power of the stones. This friendly form of folk magick is open to all. Learn how you can begin your life of crystal magick today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lovebird Press
• Release date: Jan 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215341728

Book preview

Copyright and Legal Note

Text, image, and cover design © 2022 by Amethyst Qu

©All rights Reserved

This is a book about the unexplained. We can't guarantee that you will get the same results or any results from working with Moldavite or any other crystal. Neither the author nor the publisher can take any responsibility for the outcome of your Moldavite meditations. If you are in doubt about the safety of experimenting with any advanced meditation technique, please consult with your mental health professional.

Note: Amethyst Qu is a stone cutter and collector as well as a metaphysical seeker. The stones, spheres, and gems in the cover image are from the author's personal collection. You may see more photos when you visit my Medium blog. This list collects my metaphysical and crystal stories, many illustrated with my personal stones.

Get Ready to Make Magick

How To Cleanse a Crystal Aura

Early spring. I'm walking along a trail in a mountain forest. The morning sunlight is filtered through the budding leaves.

A ray of light catches on something in my path.

What's this?

Unsure of how a stone that grows in the earth found itself here, I pick up the quartz crystal. The stone is clean and clear as glass—except for a hint of a fracture that creates a rainbow near the tip.

There's not a speck of creek mud anywhere to be seen. Hmm. The late winter rains must have washed it down the side of the mountain.

Nature herself placed this crystal in my path at this exact moment of discovery.

I cup it in the open palm of my receptive left hand to feel its power.

The message is clear.

I am yours. I am ready.

WHEN YOU FIND A STONE in such circumstances—when Fate Herself has thrust the stone into your hand—you may feel inspired to begin working right away. Why wait?

More often, though, we find our stones in more mundane ways. Very often we purchase them—from shops, from online stores, from contacts on social media. Other times, we receive them as gifts.

In such cases, there exists an intermediary between us and the good Earth that gave us this stone. We don't know the complete history of the stone or what psychic attachments it may have picked up in its adventures along the way to us.

Therefore, most workers—including me—advise you to cleanse your new stone before you use it in your magic.

This isn't a negative thing. You're not casting out demons or calling your stone unclean.

You're performing a simple, calming ritual to clear away distractions from the past. Stones are sensitive. They can pick up on other people's dreams, wishes, worries, intentions.

And that's fine. We love it that our stones are aware and responsive.

But we also want our stones to focus on our current dreams, wishes, and intentions. Therefore, we are wise to cleanse the stone's aura to prepare it for its latest work.

Here are two easy rituals to do just that.

The Full Moon Bath

THIS CLASSIC RITUAL is often used by Wiccans as well as traditional witches from a variety of world traditions. And it's so simple.

Place your stone outside overnight to bathe in the light of the full moon. Her light will cleanse the stone's aura.

Ah.

Too simple?

Don't feel bad. I often feel the same. There's something about the human spirit that craves ritual.

So here's a deeper version of the moon bath.

On the night of a full moon, shortly before midnight, bathe yourself by the light of a white candle in cleansing water sprinkled with sea salt and rose petals. (These days, I've become very fond of natural pink sea salt, but your favorite ritual salt will do.)

As you wash, focus on your intention to be clean. You will find it helpful to chant your intention aloud.

As I bathe, as I wash, I am clean.

I suggest you bathe shortly before midnight because you will want to emerge into the night when the full moon is beaming down from directly overhead—and midnight is when the full moon is overhead.

If possible, emerge skyclad. If not, don a clean white robe.

Either way, take yourself, and your stone, into the light of the full moon. Feel her soothing silver rays shining down on you.

As she bathes us, as she washes us, we are clean.

The moon's physical light should make it easier to visualize the cleansing aura raining down from the sky—even if you normally find it a challenge to visualize.

Running Water Washes Away All Evil

WHAT IF IT'S THE WRONG time of the month for a full moon? What if it's a cloudy night? Some workers would tell you to wait.

I don't necessarily agree. Patience can be a virtue, but not if it causes the new worker to lose momentum.

If you cannot perform a full moon ritual, and you're eager to get started, I suggest you use the power of running water to purify your stone.

Let a stream of water flow over your new stone while you visualize all the dirt and grime of its previous attachments being rinsed away. In the mountains, it is common to use running water from a small cascade or waterfall. But, in the city, I've used running cold water from the faucet, and it worked out just fine.

Washed in water, this stone is clean. Washed in water, this stone is pure.

Instead of water, I do sometimes use smoke or incense to purify the stone. Sage, sandalwood, and tobacco are three herbs with a long history of use in purification rituals. I no longer use tobacco, but that's a personal choice. If tobacco holds power for you or your teachers, then by all means, feel free to use it with respect in a ritual setting.

Neon Apatite

Blast Away Blocks to Creativity

Lately, I've been thinking about Apatite a lot, especially Neon Apatite.

Years ago, I received a pound of uncut Neon Apatite crystals from Brazil. The pea-sized crystals were clear, with gorgeous color, but they had an imperfectly defined crystal structure. Thus, they were being sold as faceting material rather than crystal specimens.

Hmm.

My husband did facet the largest crystal into a Neon Apatite pyramid, but we agreed the remaining stones were a little too small for faceting.

I meditated for a long while. As in about twenty years. Well, you can't rush these things.

Then, a few months ago, I figured out how to tumble them without grinding them down to grit—and they came out just beautiful. Careful tumbling in a gentle rotary tumbler turned out to be the best way to bring them to a high polish without cutting away too much material.

Now, I own a beautiful jar of Neon Blue Apatites that sit in my office window where they can catch the sun.

That's the physical and material result. But, in the end, the metaphysical result has proved to be much more interesting.

NEON BLUE APATITE IS a stone of the throat chakra, which is often associated with clarity, speech, and the color blue. That means this stone holds promise for work that involves using your voice.

Thus, it's a good stone for creators and speakers. It helps you express yourself. You can communicate clearly and more easily, with a better chance of actually being heard.

One of my sources suggests that it can help reduce stuttering. They seem to mean this in the literal sense. It shouldn't be used to replace speech therapy, but it might be added to the stutterer's mineral cabinet or medicine bag as a supplement to the work.

But I also suspect Neon Apatite reduces metaphorical stuttering. You speak faster and more freely.

Sometimes, perhaps, a little too freely?

Or maybe that's just me?

All joking aside, I'm suggesting you use this stone with respect. Since placing my Neon Apatites near my desk where I write, I've been communicating, for sure.

Boy, have I been communicating.

And I've certainly been expressing myself.

Which is... fine? Many of my readers have enjoyed my more offbeat and humorous forms of expression.

But there are always a few who don't get it.

Especially when a normally serious writer commits silly poems in public places. Uh-oh.

You have been warned.

This stone blasts through self-censorship and blocks. As a result, a few killjoys might pop up here and there to try to make you start self-censoring again.

Use the Neon Apatite wisely, speak your truth, and don't let yourself be slowed down by folks who aren't ready to appreciate your truth.

A Throat Chakra Meditation to Blast Through Creative Blocks

LAY ON YOUR BACK IN a quiet place where you will not be disturbed. Place a Neon Apatite crystal or polished pebble on your throat.

Visualize a pure electric blue light passing from the stone into your throat. If you already have a favorite mantra that supports your creativity, use it.

If not, try one of these:

I speak easily and clearly.

People are eager to hear what I have to say.

My drawings capture the essence of my subject.

I can write as fast as I can talk.

When I'm writing fiction, one of my most useful mantras is: When I wake up tomorrow, I will know what happens next in my story.

I swear it never fails. Try it and see.

A Resource for Tough Cases

FOR TOUGH CASES OF writer's block, you may want to develop a special mantra specifically aimed at removing the deep-rooted source of YOUR personal writer's block.

For this, I've used a book called, Write For Your Life, by Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Lawrence Block. This seminar-inspired volume is designed to help you find the limiting beliefs that stop you from writing. Then it gives you the tools you need to create powerful affirmations to get you back on track.

I recommend the audio version. Having narrator Richard Neer walk me through the process proved extremely helpful to me.

Moldavite

Mean Green Machine

Awhile back, a bunch of folks were all up in my Twitter feed to say how bad Moldavite had messed around with their lives.

As the author of The Moldavite Message, it wasn't news to me that Moldavite is a stone that can make some changes in your reality.

Silly me. I thought that was a good thing. Doesn't reality need some changing from time to time?

Don't know about you. But I pursue magick—the mystical science of making changes in the universe in conformity with our will—because I'd like a few things done differently around here.

So.

I bought a Moldavite to clear some blocks in my path, and instead it cleared away my cheating hubby and my stupid job, isn't what I expect to read on a random Tuesday on Twitter.

What's going on here? Have I been steering my readers onto the bad timeline? Is Moldavite a dangerous stone best left in the hands of experts?

Hmm. I don't think so.

For sure, Moldavite is no beginner's stone, and I do post some warnings about its use in my book. But I do think reasonably careful people can use it safely.

However, since people are still wringing their hands, maybe I should dive a little deeper to clarify a few points.

The Moldavite Flush

IN MY EXPERIENCE, MOLDAVITE is a helpful and friendly stone. The first time I met Moldavite in the late '80s or early '90s, I did experience what some online darkly refer to as the Moldavite flush.

I don't know that I would call it a flush. By way of comparison, I experience the classic niacin flush as a very strong rush of heat that turns me red from the inside out.

I don't get anything like that from Moldavite. Instead—and only on the first meeting—what I got was a very strong tingling sensation. I honestly don't think the stone was being nasty or unpleasant.

The stone was aware of me, and it wanted me to be aware of the stone. But I honestly believe it was saying, Hello, nice to meet you.

In other words, it was offering me a courteous greeting. I'd compare it to a handshake.

It's a stone. It's doing the best it can to communicate with the limited tools it has, you know?

How is that negative?

It isn't.

I consider it polite.

And, to be honest, I was tickled pink. When a stone speaks to you so strongly, don't you feel chosen?

First You Cry

TIKTOK WENT THROUGH its own period of sharing scare stories about Moldavite. One of the first TikToks I saw on the subject featured a lady who had her Moldavite pendant five days and couldn't stop crying.

But, on the bright side, she said, as she sniffled and wiped her eyes, I got a great new job offer out of nowhere.

You win some, and you lose some, I guess.

You won't cry every time you wear your Moldavite, but crying spells aren't rare when you first put on the stone. Moldavite does have a way of pulling up a lot of emotion from deep inside.

Many new owners do experience tears or anger. It's a common experience.

I wouldn't say I cried for five days, but I did experience a strong upwelling of sadness in the first hour or so after I put on my first Moldavite for the first time.

More evidence of the stone's power, if you ask me. Which, in the end, is a good thing.

I still give the same advice I give in my book. Don't wear a new Moldavite for the first time in public. Work with it for a while in private or in the company of another trusted crystal worker.

Part of what the stone does is help you get in touch with your feelings.

After all, you'll be asking this stone to help you move blockages and change your reality. To do that, the stone needs to be clear about what grieves you—and what needs changing.

So let the tears come. They're cleansing.

Smoky Quartz on Petrified Wood

A Brilliant Mystery

Old-timers in the crystal hobby tend to accumulate their share of stories. Guess I'm officially an old-timer. About thirty years ago, I had the good fortune to add a specimen of Smoky Quartz Druse crystals on black petrified wood to my personal collection.

About a foot long, it's a piece of hollow branch that got fossilized so long ago that tiny Smoky Quartz crystals had time to sprout like seeds in all the little gaps and cracks. It's gorgeous.

But what was its origin story? Al Gore hadn't had time to invent the internet yet—that's another old-timer's joke, I guess—so I couldn't just get online and ask.

The seller was cagey. Alabama wood, is what he called it, and he had no intention of telling me where he collected it. A private site, he said.

I wasn't interested in jumping the guy's claim. I was just curious. So I let it go.

A few years later, I heard he got arrested for collecting on somebody else's private property. Oops.

The years drifted on. Eventually, somebody told me Alabama wood came from a forest knocked down by the Wetumpka Asteroid, a meteorite that fell around 80-83 million years ago. Since it was petrified wood, I didn't not believe the story. I just didn't know for sure if it was true.

More recently, I heard it probably came from Brilliant, Marion County, Alabama. And, this time, I figure I heard right.

Mindat.org, a sort of online mineral museum, features a photograph of Brilliant material that looks very much like mine down to the yellow clay in the cracks.

So, yay. Mystery solved. And it only took thirty years.

Smoky Quartz for Strength and Comfort

SMOKY QUARTZ, DRUSE or full-sized, is one of my favorite stones. I especially like it for treating grief and depression.

If you follow my work for long, you'll find I'm a very strong proponent of letting medical science and modern technology do their job. I will never advise you to use crystal healing instead of modern medicine.

The old wise ones would call our modern science a miracle—and they weren't in favor of throwing away their miracles.

However, we all get into situations where it helps to have a little boost from the unseen world. Spirit won't sweep your floor, but if you're doing your part on the physical plane, you have every right to ask your crystals to do their stuff on the metaphysical plane.

So, if you're doing the work you need to do, I'm a huge fan of having Smoky Quartz around to help out.

My Brilliant specimen especially interests me because the Smoky druse is growing on petrified wood—which is about as literal a symbol for transformation as you can get.

The cells of the original tree have been replaced, one by one, with stone. What better symbol of rot and sorrow being transformed into strength?

A Pocket Stone To Heal Sadness

WITH LARGE SPECIMENS like my Brilliant, I'm happy to put them on display in a place of honor. From time to time, it travels outside to bathe in the light of the full moon.

It's a trouble-free process. These large Smokies work just by being beautiful and by injecting their soothing aura into the atmosphere of the home.

However, if you're a highly sensitive person, it's also helpful to carry a Smoky Quartz. A $1 polished pebble is fine, although sometimes I'll use a small crystal point instead.

Before you put it to work, purify it by the light of the full moon or under running water as I described in Chapter 1. Then, holding the stone in your receptive hand (usually your left hand), visualize a healing white light flowing into your stone.

Strength and healing, is my mantra when I'm programming these stones. Healing and strength.

Then I drop it into my pocket and don't think about the stone again. This is one of those spells that work best once you've forgotten you ever performed it.

One day, you'll be surprised to find the stone in your pocket.

That same day, you'll be surprised to realize how much your grief has faded.

Landscape Quartz

A Key to Other Worlds

Years ago, I collected a Chlorite-included Quartz point from the Hot Springs, Arkansas area. It was roughly as long and thick as my thumb, a single-terminated crystal point of transparent Rock Crystal Quartz with a hint of a rainbow near a fracture. The Chlorite inclusions trapped inside were my favorite color, green.

The only imperfection? A broken tip.

There was such power in this piece. In the early nineties, precious metals were cheap. I wrapped this uncut, unpolished piece in 14-karat gold wire without a second thought. Then I threaded it on a thong precisely long enough to let the stone fall to my heart.

You might recognize a prosperity talisman. And you might be right.

The old wise ones had a lot to say about the prosperity power of Moss Agate—another clear stone with images of rich greenery growing inside. Landscape Quartz is not the same stone, but I felt it possessed a similar talent.

Landscape Quartz, like green Moss Agate, is a friend to the green plants. And, because green plants are the source of all true prosperity, both stones must possess the power to draw good fortune.

Eventually, the pendant fulfilled its purpose, and the wire broke. I had enjoyed a period of unexpected good fortune, especially in the realm of finance.

It was time to recycle the gold wire. Time to cleanse and rest the stone. Time to celebrate a job well done.

And then?

What next?

The Dream Stone

OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, as I rested my specimen, I pondered whether I should recut and polish the tip. When I collected it, the crystal's tip was already damaged. It came into the human world that way. And it had done its job well, imperfections and all.

I realized I was not happy with the idea of recutting the tip. I'm not sure why. So much of crystal work is intuitive.

In the end, I decided to toss the piece in the rotary tumbler. It took a few weeks to polish, but I am very pleased with the results.

Oh, the new incarnation will never be mistaken for an uncut crystal. The tumbler smoothed away the hard edges. Its hexagonal shape is gone.

Instead, the polished pebble has something of the feel of a frozen raindrop. Gazing into the finished stone, I see a rainbow and a little shrubby forest of hills and trees.

Inside the clarity of Quartz, I see worlds.

How to Recognize Landscape Quartz

ALL THE ROLLING HILLS inside—all the images of natural vegetation—make it easy to understand why this material is often called Landscape Quartz.

On occasion, I've also heard people call it a dream stone.

How beautiful it