Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Crystal Charging 101

As I write it’s a beautiful springtime Full Moon; perfect for charging crystals and setting your house in order for the coming season. In the past week I’ve had no less than five people ask about charging crystals, so here we go. Crash course Crystal Charging 101. Take advantage of the conditions; we won’t have them again for another 28 days.



Crystals? Charging? Does this require donning a long cloak, walking around your house aiming large quartz points in the air, muttering arcane chants, and having cats ‘twining round your ankles? Hmmmm. Well it could…sounds like fun, actually... but no, we are above all else, practical people leading practical lives and that sort of ‘in a hood in a wood’ theatrical display just isn’t part of most people’s lives. Besides the neighbors will stare. Even here in SoCal.

If you are new to all this you might also imagine you don’t have any crystals lying about in need of charging but I’ll bet you do. Remember that gemstones are crystals. I’ll bet you have some of those. A diamond ring? An amethyst brooch? A tiger’s eye pendant? Some topaz earrings? An emerald bracelet? An onyx bangle? All crystals. Why do you think humankind started mining and polishing and faceting these stones? Because they have power. Because they channel and direct power. And that can be useful in many, many ways.

Think I’m a kook? Well, you wouldn’t be the first! But think about it. In Judeo-Christian lore, the breastplate of the priests of Levi was chock full of crystals, arranged in a very deliberate manner. Think about how every monarch of ancient times encircled their head with crystals mounted in gold, and held scepters and orbs encrusted with crystals. They still do. Google the Opening of Parliament in Britain and watch Her Majesty enter with her crown and scepter. Why? Symbols of wealth and power. Read it clearly: Power. Esoteric knowledge and power.

In ancient times people were more fluent in crystal use, and employed them in healing, in spiritual ritual, and in meditation. A lot of people still do, but it has fallen away from the mainstream. Some of us are working to bring back this information for everyday use. It’s being well received, because it’s natural, and it’s common to all faiths and cultures. This is not scary stuff. This is just working with nature and physics.

But I digress. Charging crystals. Over time and with use, crystals drain of energy, and the ability to direct energy. They need charging, just like a battery. That’s where the moon comes in. Luna, when full, has a great ability to charge things with energy. I don’t know why. I’m not a physicist or astronomer. I just know it’s true. The energy can be accessed whether you can see the moon or not; whether it’s a clear night or cloudy or a downpour. Moonlight is merely a tracer, like the color of a laser is not the laser itself. The energy is there regardless of the atmospheric conditions. If you can see the moonglow, that’s lovely. It sure feels good to sit out in it and have a good think.

In order to charge up crystals, they’ll need to be set out in reach of this energy. And they have to be clean, or they can’t take it in. With use, crystals pick up negative energy, and get waterlogged, if you will, with it. If you don’t clean them, it would be like taking a cloth that’s sodden with mud, and setting it in a champagne bath and wondering why it isn’t all beautiful and sparkly.


There are a number of ways to cleanse crystals, but since this is Charging 101 and we’re sticking to basics I won’t get into detail other than to say if the crystal can withstand water (like your gemstones can) just rinse them off under running water and send intention that any negative energy that has attached to the stone flow away and down the drain. If they aren’t waterproof (like kyanite for example) you can use other means, the easiest of which is to pass it through incense smoke and again, intend that any negative energy leave it. If you are digging out ancient jewelry you haven’t worn in ages, take a soft toothbrush and a little mild dish soap to it, and shine it up. That’s just being polite. You’ve ignored it for years; show that crystal you care. I love to take my crystals down to the ocean and swish them in the surf. Do that and watch them sparkle!

Then, once they are clean, place your crystals out where they can get the night air, and where the neighbors, human or otherwise, won’t make off with them. (Skunks and raccoons and crows are notorious thieves of crystals - they love their gleam and energy). You can set them inside on a windowsill; you can put them out on a patio, or on anywhere they can get the air. I love to place mine right in the beam of the rising moon. I have a friend who puts his on the roof of his house. I met a masseuse in Las Vegas who always took his hot stone massage stones to the roof of Bellagio each Full Moon. Get them out there!

And leave them as long as you feel is appropriate. I leave them out all night. I don’t have any gems that have monetary value, so it’s easy for me. If I had a large diamond, though, I’d take precautions! And we can discuss ‘between charging’ techniques another time. Tonight is just Charging 101.

Traditional wisdom has it that you can access this energy for three days before and three days after the actual Full. So there is no need to stress! You’ll know when to do it. After a little experience, you’ll feel a tug when the time is just right.

So go through your drawers and find that jewelry. Find those crystals you bought at the Renaissance Faire. Give them a swish in water and set them out. Bring them in around dawn, or before the sun gets too high in the sky. I guarantee that if you charge up your jewelry, you will notice a difference in their appearance, and the way they feel when you wear them.

There’s so much more to crystals, and I am in the process of writing all sorts of things for you. I am blessed to have been taught by the best: some information I got from Judy Hall through her books, some from studying under my beloved teacher Lisa Williams, and some is channeled from Spirit. Tonight, though, it’s about getting those of you who have crystals languishing away in drawers to get them out, polish them up and start using them again. Good for you; good for the crystal; good for the planet.

Enjoy! And when you place your crystals out, look up at Luna. And know that all over the world, people are doing the same thing. It’s beautiful. It’s of the Light. It’s Positive.

And we can all use more of that!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Owl

In a nearby town we have a young owl who has taken up her nest in an owl box that has a camera in it. We are all mesmerized. Soon there will be five hatchlings.

Her mate rests near by in a palm tree and brings her take-out of rabbit and squirrel and rat. She fluffs her down, and coos to her unborn owlets.


She is Raptor Madonna. She is the most beautiful creature in the world.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-owl-box

photo by Carlos Royal

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Crystals in the Fountain

These crystals were formed long before I walked this Earth, in any of my incarnations. And now they sit in my garden fountain; a delight to the birds and all who glimpse them.
Where will they go when I am gone from this plane? And by what marvelous route will they get there? What other lives will they charm with their energy and focused vibration?

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Crow

It’s been a grim couple of weeks since I last wrote. Chelsea, a young woman in our neighborhood, was raped, murdered, and discarded in a marsh. The man who stands accused is additionally implicated in the rape and murder of another young woman; Amber: who disappeared a year ago and whose remains have now finally been located. It has been a busy, busy, sad time.

Interesting, how Amber’s remains have been found within a week of this man being incarcerated and left alone in a room with police.

As I take my evening walk tonight I see my crows: the large murder of crows who nightly hunt along my route. Each evening they mass, take reconnaissance, and scavenge the area. These wise creatures: these messengers from Spirit. They caw to me and permit me to approach. I walk amongst them, several dozen of them and they regard me without fear. I draw close and feel their energy. There is respect, I for them and they for me.

Crow energy has always felt close to me, and tonight more so. They know. Surely they saw what happened. They fly these skies each night. They see all. They know what happened to Chelsea. They know what happened to Amber. These percipient Corvidae know.