Gemstone Magick Basics

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Gemstone Magick Basics
By: / Knowledgeable
Post # 1
I wrote this many years ago for the Goddess Within, A Pagan Place for Women, where I was/am a moderator. I edited it a bit and reformated it for this site. Excuse any annoying question marks. I wrote this 100% myself. This is how I use stones. Gemstone magick was the very first I ever did. I was taught when I was a very young child and over the years, I developed my own style.
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In order to properly use a gemstone in magick, a few steps must be followed.

Clearing Old Energy

Back in old days and ancient times, people need not worry about others handling the stones they found. The druid, shaman, or sorceror would either be the first one to handle the stone, and if not, he/she would know who did. We no longer have this privilege. Gemstones in stores and in personal collections, whether in jewelry or loose, were handled by the miners, lapidary and metalsmithing artists, shippers, packers, store employees, and customers. That is a lot of people and a lot of foreign energy you know nothing about! This is why it is sooo important to clear your stone of all foreign energy.


Clearing and cleansing is different. To clear something is to literally get rid of any unnatural energy of that object. It is similar to banishing. Anything that wasn't there when it was first created shouldn't be there when you are finished.

Cleansing something is purifying the energy already there and removing or converting the negative energy. Do you really want someone elses energy no matter how clean it is? This could disrupt your magick and the gemstones natural flow of energy. It should only have your energy on it. It has only one owner and if too many different energies are present, the gemstone is going to be chaotic. This is like a computer with too many files. The computer begins to slow down and sometimes even crashes because of the overload. Gemstones are the same way, they have an intricate system working and you need to take care not to disturb this.

Even if you have had a stone for a very long time, it is a good idea to clear it every once in a while, especially if you use if for more than one task. When you handle the stone in variating emotional states, this also attaches to the stone and needs to be cleared every now and then. The only time this is contrary is when you use a stone for one sole purpose, over and over, like an altar stone, amulet, talisman, or perhaps a crystal point used to make magick circles only. When one solitary energy keeps running through a gemstone, this actually makes it stronger for that purpose. So, if it is possible financially, keep different stones for different purposes, even if you must have three clear quartz crystal points, each for different energies, you'll see an improvement in the energy that comes from it, trust me.

You may clear a gemstone in various ways. Here are a few examples:

(1) It is possible to banish the unnatural energy. A simple banishing rite such as the Lesser Banishing Ritual used on the object instead of yourself, or one of your own familiar rites should be fine. Whatever you are comfortable with would be best.

(2) Smudging can work as long as you use something for getting rid of energy, not just purification. Incense made with herbs and resins for "exorcism", "banishing" or "clearing"; is what your looking for.

(3) A brine made to withdraw all foreign energy would work well. (A brine is a water and sea salt solution.) Possible ingredients to add to such a brine include but are not limited to lilac, rue, bay, or basil. You may use other herbs you feel appropriate. Be careful with brines. Don't leave the stone in them for more than a few minutes and never do this with watery stones like opal because the salt can hurt them severely. I like using brines for clear quartz.

(4) Or, if you're like me and enjoy using your own energy, hold the stone in your right hand and push your energy into the stone. Have this energy disperse and destroy all unwanted energy. Don't let your energy stay in the stone, let it pass right through it. This takes concentration and a lot of charging so be prepared! Absorb extra energy from the earth through your feet if you need extra umph! This is really fun to do, I would suggest trying it at least once as long as you are experienced. Rookies may have a little trouble with this one.


If the clearing is done correctly, when you hold the gemstone in you left hand, you should feel nothing but a calm flow of the gemstone's natural vibe.

If you try and try and the stone still has a negative feeling, burns, itches, etc, the stone itself may be negative. Also, note that certain spirits like to reside in stones. If the spirit doesn't like you or is negative in nature, you will sense this. Try purifying the stone itself. If this does not help, it is probably a spirit. As silly as it may sound, try talking to the stone. The spirit inside may begin to grow fond of you and change his/her disposition. Spirits in stones are actually a very helpful thing. They can govern the stone for you and help you in your magick if they are willing. This is a big reason why you must always show respect to your gemstones, they may have life inside.


Charge the stone

Now that the gemstone is prepared, you must charge it. This basically lends the stone extra energy to perform its duty. You are giving it additional strength and power. Make sure that you charge the stone with the same energy of the purpose. For example, if you want it to keep someone from harm or theft, charge it with protective energy.

Don't know how to distinguish the energy you put out? As you are building the energy within your body, think of what protection means to you. Envision this. Is it a shield and sword? A winning battle? Perhaps an angel glowing bright? Picture it, focus on it. Feel that feeling? That's protective energy.

Now push it out! Breath is a good way of helping you release energy with more force. Take a deep inhale and as you exhale, focus the energy out of your palm and into the gemstone. Push it into the stone and see the stone glowing brighter and brighter, more vibrant and pulsing with power. Keep charging and pushing this energy until you feel the stone is full and cannot hold any more.

Good job, your stone is ready.


Giving Instructions

Now your stone should be filled to the brim with energy. It should feel so great, and your probably really excited. All your hard work is paying off.

This is the easy part. You need to tell the stone what you want from it. Give it direction. You may do this a number of ways, pick just one or combine a few. You can never give too much instruction, only too little. Make sure to be thorough and concise in your description.

Here are a few methods:

For clairaudients...
(1) Whisper to it. Place the stone inches from your lips and whisper your desire. Always show reverence.

(2) Think the words and project them to the stone. How do you do this? Speak in your mind, as if you were talking to yourself but direct your inner voice to the stone. Imagine that the sound of your voice surrounds the stone, allowing it to here every word. See your voice entering the stone, echoing within.

For clairvoyants...
(3) Picture what you want the stone to do. Envision it working as you want it to and send this to the stone. Use your imaginiation. For instance, if you want it to keep thieves away, see a man dressed in black attempt to steal or break in to your home, get scared or paranoid, and run away. Make it dramatic! Get the point across as clear as possible. If you want a stone to protect you, see danger come and a huge energy shield come from the stone and deflect all attack. Do what you feel is right and correct in correlation with what the job of the stone will be. Project this into the stone. Imagine this image being displayed inside of the stone.

For empaths...
(4) Give the gemstone the feeling of how you want it to act. Think about a situation you have encountered that would be fitting and send the feeling of that environment to the stone.

That's it! The gemstone is now renewed, powered, and programmed.


Maintenance Repair and Technical Difficulties

This is very important. DO NOT clear the energy of your gemstone unless you want to completely change its magickal purpose. DO cleanse or purify your stone when you feel it has suffered a great deal of damage from negative energy. A good indication of this is when the stone actually looks dull or darker than usual or feels negative. You may also heal the rough or negative spots on the crystal as you would when repairing a person's energy. After healing the stone, cleanse it of any residual bad energy.

If you find yourself needing to relieve your stone of negativity too often, every few days or so, check the source of the problem. For instance, if you are being psychically attacked and your stone is getting the abuse, you will need to cast additional protections in order to stop the situation all together. This will prevent your stone from being permanently damaged and allow it to continue its work with you in a less disruptive environment.

After cleansing/purifying/healing the gemstone, if the gemstone appears to be less "buzzy" or powerful than normal, it may be necessary to give it a little more energy. Charge the stone again, the same as you had done previously. It will not need as much energy because it still retains the energy you had powered it with before. It is not necessary to reprogram it as long as the gemstone isn't fully "dead" having no energy whatsoever. At this point, you can choose to "feed" your stone regularly with sunlight, moonlight, wind, a drop of blood or whatever energy you feel will compliment the energy of your stone.

Again, if you find yourself needing to recharge your stone often, this is a serious problem This means that the stone either is rejecting the energy you are giving it or the stone is unwillingly leaking energy. How do you know if it is leaking or rejecting energy? If it is leaking energy, the stone will perform perfectly but dwindle in power over time quickly, even without being used. If it is rejecting energy, it will not perform whatsoever. You will see very little to no results.

A stone rejecting the energy means that the particular energy you are sending is not agreeing with the stone's natural makeup. Basically, you are attempting to make it perform a task it is not capable of or willing to doing. The stone has no use for the energy given because it is literally incapable of or refusing using it; therefore, it rejects it.

If the stone is leaking energy, you need to seal the energy into the stone. This will prevent the energy from leaving the gemstone, although the power will still decrease as it is used up. This is natural. The only exception to this rule is if the stone itself has absorbtion/conversion properties, meaning, if it has the capability of taking in energy itself and converting it to useable energy. Such stones include citrine, black tourmaline and hemetite; most cleansing and balancing stones have these properties.

Furthermore, stones near or surrounded by an energy source, such as altar stones, wand gemstones, and stones used for specific rituals should continue to be rather strong. Even throughout the years these particular stones only require a tune up once in a great while.

There are many variations of sealing objects and stones. The easiest way is to utilize breath.Breathe gently over the object, whisper something like "I seal thee with the power of my being, my will, and my desire". You can speak this in a breathy voice over the stone as well. Breath is known to be a representation of life, the strongest power inside us all. As you breathe onto the stone, envision your breath wrapping around the stone and creating something similar to the plastic wrap you use in your kitchen. Know that the energy cannot leave.

Sometimes, you may return to your stone to find that it is completely depleted of energy. It will feel as if it is an empty shell. If your stone is dead like this, you must give it back to the earth to repair. It is hurt far beyond our control and needs time to heal. Set it in a box and place this box in the ground, asking the earth to heal the gem. Check back with it once in a while, it could take days or years depending on how damaged the stone was. How does a stone end up dead? By being burned out--if you have told it to protect you, it will do this with every bit of effort it has, and if it is overloaded, it will "die" trying to protect you or serve its purpose. This normally happens to amulets, but it is possible for this to occur in any gem.

If the stone is totally overloaded, it may literally break or crack. If this occurs, bury it and never look back. It is unfixable. Thank it for its service and leave it be. The earth will take care of it.


Additional Note

If a stone for some reason does not seem to be working out with the purpose you've asked it to perform, you may need to reassess the stone and find what it should be used for. Meditate with the stone or merely us a process of elimination. If you chose the particular stone for a particular purpose, find another stone of the same kind that is better suited and try again. And work with the first stone until you discover its personality/strengths and weaknesses.
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Re: Gemstone Magick Basics
By: / Knowledgeable
Post # 2

I really enjoyed this, White. I, myself, have not used many stones for my workings but had been curious about how they were used in the first place and this hit right on the spot and cleared the matter up for me.

A side question: Judging from what you said "if you're like me and enjoy using your own energy" I assume that you prefer clearing over cleansing when it comes to the energy (depending on what you are doing)? Which do you feel suits you the best?

If you have more writing on this I would love to read it.

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Re: Gemstone Magick Basics
By: / Beginner
Post # 3
I knew a lot of what you were saying without being able to put it into words. (damage done to my brain affects me even today from a car accident when I was young.) I can "feel" the energy in stones, and wondered why each felt so different. I know how to cleanse, but to clarify now makes more sense on some of the stones I have. Very good info, and will apply it immediately on those stones that didn't ever feel right to me.
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Re: Gemstone Magick Basics
By: / Knowledgeable
Post # 4
Unless the stone has been used for something like healing someone else, I usually don't have to clear the energy besides the first initial one when I first receive the stone. I do however feed the stones regularly and will do maintenance on them by focusing my energy into them, healing any "rough" patches and pinpointing specific energy that doesn't belong there. This is why its important to get to know your stones. You'll be able to distinguish when something isn't right and what isn't right about it.

When I first began using this form of magick, I was very young, and most of my collection were plain rocks. I still enjoy working with regular stones, and the one thing I ask people when they go on vacations is to bring me back a natural rock! That's all I want.

Clearing isn't always necessary, especially with natural rocks--if your using it as a...hard to explain, meditation stone of sorts. When my friend went to Wales, she brought me back a good size (3inch) pink rock from the forest of Wales, just off the coast (she explained). I did not clear it because the energy it had was incredible on its own. I left it all, good and bad, and connected to the stone to share in its wisdom. Stones store information, all the history they've been through. Most gemstones have a very bland history, they sat in a mine or under the earth somewhere until someone dug it up. Only a select few are "wise" from their years. But natural rocks are always amazing information collectors.

To share in their knowledge, you can sit down and begin meditating with the stone in both hands. Run your hands across the surfaces of the rock, begin to connect to it. Get to know every groove and dimple, every rough and smooth spot. There is usually one spot on the rock that feels different, the best way I can describe it is, it feels "soft". It's as if you could push down onto the rock in this area and it would give in, but it doesn't. This is the opening of the rock itself, it's doorway into the "mind" of the stone. By focusing on this spot and/or rubbing it with your thumb, you will being to gain a far stronger connection to it. At this point you can enter trance and journey "into the stone". Some stones are very visual, and you'll see full blown scenes. Other stones may only give you sounds, and interestingly enough, conversations it has "overheard". The most difficult ones to understand are those that only give emotion. These can be very intense and when I first came across this sort of "information" I thought it was a lost cause. But the stone kept calling to me. So I sat down and did it again, this time letting myself completely go, like channeling a spirit, I channeled this emotion. It's incredibly intense. But amazingly rewarding. What I thought was a lost cause was actually more clear than any. Instead of sound or image, I just knew. It was like physically experiencing a scene through it's atmosphere, no sight, no sound, just existing among it all. It's knowledge was on a much different level, an understanding without being able to describe what that knowledge is. I ended up doing this a number of times with that stone and its almost like i lived another life after the stone had finished its story. I highly suggest you try this. But the key is to get a very old rock. The younger it is, the less "wisdom" it has to offer.

I have to admit, when I was given the rock from Wales, I was hoping I could glimpse information on the Druids! But unfortunately that particular rock wasn't in the right place at the right time. But I did see a bloody battle. I'm not quite sure who was fighting who. I never bothered looking into the history of any battle in or by the forests of Wales. I was about fourteen at the time and disappointed. Haha! So I left it by my window because I sensed it liked the sunshine, and we lived happily as roommates that never talked. =)
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Re: Gemstone Magick Basics
By: / Knowledgeable
Post # 5
I'm sorry, my memory failed me a bit. I remember now. My friend brought back two rocks, one from the shores of Ireland and another from the forests of wales. I mixed up the two! The one from Ireland was much larger and due to it's watery home, had an extremely relaxing and peaceful energy. I didn't connect to that one. It was like an instant anti-stress pill, just touching it! I would rinse it once a week in spring water, or let it sit in a small bowl of it for an hour or two to keep it energized.
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