Everyone goes through trials and hardships. I personally have just recently experienced a life-changing experience – after several years in a job, doing what I love, I was suddenly blindsided on a sunny Tuesday morning with the news that my position had been eliminated, due to a corporate restructuring. In one moment, my whole life crashed down around me. I am a single mom, with kids at home to feed, two loving pups, rent, car payment – suddenly faced with no income, no insurance, and no light at the end of the tunnel. Good jobs are hard to find in the small town that I am from, and suddenly losing the position that I was successful and happy in rocked my world. I also was struggling with betrayal by someone in a position of authority who had assured me repeatedly for at least 6 months that I was secure, and to “trust her” during the restructuring. As I was escorted out of the building, past my coworkers (and people who were like family), I felt an overwhelming sense of loss, sadness, and then ultimately, anger.
I recognized the signs…a tenseness in my jaw and throat, I was warm, and I realized I was gritting my teeth. I drove home in tears, and despair. I was completely unprepared and overwhelmed. After several hours of notifying my family, sitting with my grown children to discuss whether or not to tell my younger child (who was still in school), and crying my eyes out, my oldest son nudged me into talking about my passion – magic, tarot, crystals, and reminded me of what I know, and what I can do for myself. He started distracting me by talking about my newest tarot deck, reviewing the cards, having me pull one “just for fun”, and then reminding me that there is a higher power in charge of all of this.
I wanted something heavy and solid in my hands – they were shaking and I felt out of control. I picked up one of my favorite stones, a one pound chunk of blue calcite. I felt the weight of it, and I stared at the color – a soft, ocean blue, and felt the peace begin to wash over me. I remembered that the vibration of this stone was one of calming, soothing, peaceful energy and I held it for a long time. I felt my breathing start to slow down, I felt the tension start to release in my jaw, and I stopped crying. The stone is waxy, and has a smoothness to the cut edges, and I felt myself allowing the energy and vibration of this particular stone to work its magic on the rawness of my feelings. Once I was calmer, I was more able to think about what to do next. This was a powerful moment for me, as I began to practice (and understand) what I have been teaching others to do.
Stones and crystals are from the earth, and contain a certain energy vibration unique to each type of stone. The colors of the stones and crystals are important as well, as this affects their metaphysical properties and energy vibrations. Darker stones (onyx, obsidian, black tourmaline) vibrate at a lower, deeper rate, and are perfect for grounding, recentering, keeping your feet on the ground and reconnecting to mother earth. Using these stones can help heal when you are knocked off course, feel disconnected, or when you feel like you are pulled in too many directions at once. They are also powerful in helping to heal from negative emotions, as these stones tend to absorb negativity, pulling it away from you and releasing it in a more positive vibration.
Remembering how our chakras are identified by energy and color, it is easy to select stones and crystals that can help focus their vibration and energy towards any areas of your chakra that need alignment or attention. Your Root Chakra responds to stones that are red/dark, and have properties related to physicality and a sense of safety and security. The terms “going back to my roots,” “keeping my feet on the ground,” “being firmly planted” – all relate to the Root Chakra and connection. Other stones that work well to help in this area are red jasper, hematite, and smoky quartz.
Your Sacral Chakra vibrates in your lower regions, and relates to your emotions and sexuality. If you are feeling highly emotional, or need to improve your sexual health and feelings about your sexuality, you can work with stones that are a lighter red or orange, such as carnelian, peach aventurine or lighter ruby. Self-acceptance, feeling more free towards your sexual experiences and accepting and understanding your emotions can benefit from stones with this color vibration.
Your Solar Plexus Chakra vibrates at all things yellow. This chakra relates to your personal power, and your self-identity. I realized during my recent trouble that I was letting my job define me. I was my job, and without that job, who was I? What worth did I have? I let my role and the company I worked for take all of my personal power, so when it ended, I felt powerLESS. Working with citrine or golden quartz would be helpful in re-establishing your own power, helping you assert yourself when necessary in relationships and helping to release negative self-talk. Your personal identity must be held tightly within yourself so that no one force can shake it, and working with yellow or golden stones can help you – say no when you mean no, be your own cheerleader, and be perfectly happy with yourself as you are. When you “feel something in your gut” or “just know, deep down inside” – you are working in your solar plexus chakra.
The Heart Chakra responds and embodies the color green. Think of mother earth, spring, new life – all relate to love and the heart. Feeling love towards each other, forgiveness, and acceptance of others generates in the heart chakra. Conversely, heartache and heartbreak work negatively in this chakra as well, and are usually the hardest feelings to overcome. Working with green aventurine, jade, and green fluorite are super-healers for the heart chakra. Green fluorite, for example, helps to overcome addictions and overwhelming need – usually our “heart rules over the mind”, or we “think with our hearts, not our heads”, and green fluorite helps you to think through things logically rather than emotionally. Being attracted or “addicted” to a negative relationship is usually the cause of long-lasting heartache, and green stones help with logic and healing. Year after year, no matter the hardship, the earth turns green again. Your heart can and will heal and focusing on using green stones and crystals can help tremendously.
The Throat Chakra vibrates on the level parallel to the color blue. Being able to express yourself clearly, say what you are thinking, be honest and truthful all are affected by and can affect the throat chakra. Telling people how you feel is the first step towards healing yourself. “Feeling a lump in your throat” or “choking on your words” are indicative of issues with the throat chakra. Blue stones like sodalite, blue calcite, and turquoise are helpful stones to wear or carry when having trouble speaking your mind or standing up for yourself or being honest with someone. If you know you are going to have a difficult conversation, or that you are going to be in a situation where you are afraid to speak up, work with the blue stones to help overcome your fear of expression. Blue is a bold color, and being bold is the way to heal the throat chakra.
The Third Eye Chakra works directly and effectively with the indigo, a deep rich blue. It pertains to intuition, perspective and clear thought. Listening to your intuition, trusting your own understanding of a situation, and having a “sense” that something is right or wrong are all areas that can be affected by the Third Eye Chakra. Your “sixth sense” or “tingle” is improved by working with deep blue stones, such as lapis lazuli or sapphire. Your body reacts to extrasensory perception by raising goosebumps on your skin when “something is off.” Knowing who is on the phone when it rings (before caller ID), getting that sense of deja vu, and being able to predict what will happen next are all improved by working with the Third Eye chakra. Trusting your premonitions and intuition can help save you from potentially harmful situations, so working with deep blues can improve your experiences.
Finally, the Crown Chakra responds to purples and pure white stones. Amethyst, purple fluorite, and selenite are all excellent stones to work with while healing the crown chakra. The Crown Chakra represents your connection to Source – a higher power, divine being, or the universe. Selenite vibrates at a pure, high level, which is why it never needs “cleansing.” It amplifies the work of other crystals and stones, and is often used in charging and cleansing other items. Amethyst works to help stop nightmares (sourced by fear), works to soothe raw emotions, and assists in anxiety work. Recognizing the connection between yourself and a higher power is critical in self-esteem, self-acceptance and self-worth.
While I sometimes still find myself feeling overwhelmed and anxious about my future, and still feel anger towards the women that came in and made small talk and smiled while terminating me, I also know and recognize that I have some control over my responses to the situation. I am able to connect and work on critical areas, work to realign my chakras, and work on my “emotional whiplash”. I felt like I had been hit by a truck, and sometimes, still do. Dealing with betrayal, sense of loss, and questioning my self-worth still happens. But, working with the stones and crystals in meditation, and even carrying them with me (tucked into my pocket or my bra) has helped get me through those moments. I am able to face forward, not backward, and take those first steps towards healing.