Using Ordinary Stones

[TheWiseHedgewitch]

By Bonnie (Bonnie) on Monday, June 27, 2005 - 05:15 pm:

I came across a book called “Healing Stones” by Sue Phillips which gave info on ways to work with ordinary stones if you prefer not to use harvested semiprecious gems & crystals. She drew on other books like “Needles of Stone” and “The Old Straight Track”, wherein those authors recognized through dowsing that standing stones have a dominant positive (+) or negative (-) polarity. Phillips makes associations with the energy of polarity & how to use it.

Any common stone such as granite or sandstone can bring harmony to body, mind, spirit or sacred space. Take only those stones that appeal to you which you may find laying on the surface and that don’t need to be dug up. Accept these loose stones as Earth’s generosity. Water-worn stones will bring the extra relationship to the Water element.

To work with a stone you’ll want to wash it, determine its polarity and activate the (+) or (-) charge, then program it with your goal. I’ll explain these points.

Washing the stone in running water (a stream or under the tap) serves 2 purposes. Obviously it cleans off dirt, but it also dislodges any absorbed energies that might not work with your goal. Flowing water is charged with negative ions that are cleansing.

To find a stone’s polarity, you can use a home made pendulum (any small weight suspended from a string) and dowse for it, or if you’re sensitive to our stone brothers and sisters, you’ll “know” if it’s a boy (+) or a girl (-) stone through the natural polarity within your own physical body.

To use a pendulum: you hold the string and dangle the bob, then ask it to 1st show you which motion will indicate a “yes” and which motion will be a “no” response to your questions. Clear your mind and relax to do this. Let the bob hang freely. Then ask “Is this stone a positive charge?” If the motion indicates a yes response, then you “got it in one”. If it’s no, you can accept the inference that it must therefore be of a negative charge, or you can ask, rephrasing “Is this stone of a negative charge?” just to confirm it. I think the pendulum is the best way, but if you are so logically oriented that you can’t accept the pendulum then consider this food for thought: our bodies naturally have (+) and (-) polarity and the subtle energies can certainly be felt just like hot and cold, even if we don’t register it consciously. A pendulum is a tool to make this low volume, subtle energy noticeable. You can leave it up to chance by flipping a coin with heads being (+) and tails (-), or role a dice with evens being (+) and odds being (-). Don’t drive yourself crazy – just do it once and accept it.

Polarity is the only property you need to be concerned with. You’re not looking for magical associations or planetary correspondences, but rather for the innate energy charge with which the stone was imbued by Nature. Polarity is the way the stone give off energy, being either active (+) or passive (-). Like a magnet, a stone will have both a (+) and a (-) pole, but one or the other will be the dominant signature for the stone. Polarity determines how the stone’s energy will work with your intentions.

(+) A positive polarity charge is active and energizing. It brings strength and vitality, and clarity. It is best used for short term needs when a short burst of power will turn the tide in favor of your goal. A positive charge is associated with male energy and the Sun.

(-) A negative polarity charge is passive and calming. It brings stability and serenity, and is best used for long term goals, to go-the-distance. It is nurturing and creative. A negative charge is associated with female energy and the Moon.

To awaken the polarity, after first cleaning the stone, expose it to a full day and night cycle of sunlight and moonlight. This is balancing. The stone should be up off the ground so that the charge doesn’t drain into the earth. Awakening the polarity gets the energy flow moving and pulsing.

A stone is programmed by thought form or by voice. There are many ways to do this. One of the simplest is to hold the stone in your dominant hand and think at it or speak to it. They can’t handle more than one intention at a time so one stone, one goal is the rule. They aren’t big on conversation so use precise 1 or 2 word phrases lie “Heal (name)”, “Safe trip”, or “Bill paid”. I like to blow across the stone after I say the goal to seal my words. This is also a good time to use your wand.

Some people may like to hold the stone to their heart and feel the goal with emotion. I caution you to be sure to emote only as you imagine you are going to feel when the goal is met, and not from your attachment to the need, otherwise you are only programming more neediness & confusing the stone.

If you are empowering the stone as an amulet for someone else to carry, don’t allow anyone else to handle it but the 2 of you. In any case, mishandling by others can neutralize your effort, so as a general rule don’t let others play with your stones when they are in program-mode.

If the stone will not be carried or worn, then you can place it on a shelf or on your altar, or even in the crook of a tree branch or root, but not directly on the ground because that will drain the energy back into the earth. If you are doing a candle spell, then place the stone next to the candle. Remove the stone when the candle is spent.

If you are working with the moon, remove the stone when the moon phase changes (in a week). You can use a white stone for the waxing Maiden Moon (beginnings), a red stone for the full Mother Moon (fulfillment), or a black stone for the waning Crone Moon (endings). The Dark Moon is for strengthening our shields and a holey stone or one with natural rings around it is traditionally associated with protection. The author suggests hematite as the most shielding. Lode stone is traditionally used in warding.

To store stones when they are at rest, and to insulate them from random influences, use a neutral substance container like wood, or a wood-product like paper or cardboard. Metal boxes can disrupt the polarity and cloth pouches don’t insulate like paper/wood. You can also return the stones to Nature until needed again. Mark the spot somehow or you won’t be able to find them under the snow in winter.

[TheWiseHedgewitch]

By Helen (Helen) on Friday, July 15, 2005 - 10:34 pm:

Read it when you first posted it, thought ah ha that's why I've had one white stone, one red stone and one black stone in that jar for ages, printed it off and put it in my shadow file under "crystals".

If you didn't know it....................MEGA BIG THANK YOU!
With gratitude and love
Helen
ps..........and that funny kind of "brain/maze bit" and that little piece of translucent flint waiting on the computer, guess what? Dowsed them and one's negative and one's positve! what a surprise. Just didn't say anything at the time, sorry

[TheWiseHedgewitch]

By Rachel (Rachel) on Thursday, July 21, 2005 - 03:22 pm:

I've been away for ages and had missed this, thanks as ever Bonnie, a mine of info. Are there any posts where you've recommended good books for stones as I seem to be moving in that direction at the mo.

BB
Rach

[TheWiseHedgewitch]

By Bonnie (Bonnie) on Thursday, July 21, 2005 - 05:54 pm:

Hi Rachel, welcome back

I did a word search on "crystals" subject line & found 4 topics. I'm sure we've discussed books from time to time somewheres in those topics but they're long winded & like all our chats tend to meander off the subject.

I think the popular rock book mentioned more than once is "Love is the Earth" by Melodie. It's a thick book you don't want to drop on your foot. She has several more books that expand on her 1st. A search at Amazon would give you her additional titles.

Also Scott Cunningham's "Magical Use of Crystals & Minerals" or something sounding similar to that anyhow.

My two favorite old authors are Katrina Raphael and Dolphyn but it's getting harder to find their books unless you shop "Used" books.

[TheWiseHedgewitch]

By Bonnie (Bonnie) on Thursday, July 21, 2005 - 07:20 pm:

Apparently I didn't have enough to do last weekend - I was messing around with some ordinary garden rocks and POLISHED them. I used a store-bought hair-dressing made of beeswax and petroleum jelly. It's also useful for polishing wands. I just rubbed a dab between my palms to soften it up, and then rolled the stones around between my hands until they were slightly gooey, & wiped off the excess with a dry paper towel. Porous stones like sandstone became darker as if they were wet, even after the wax hardened. Non-porous stones like granite and water-worn quartz took a soft sheen.