While I was there, I ate only fresh fruits and vegetables to cleanse my system. Most of us believe that our diets are healthy. But even if you eat only organic, gluten-free, and other types of healthful food every single day of your life, the body still needs a break from its familiar routine. Such was the case for me. I decided to change my diet, and by doing so, my energy frequencies were also shifted. That shift, along with using various stones that you will read about in this book, helped me a great deal. The experience proved incredibly healing to my mind, body, and spirit. I felt refreshed by the time I went home after just a few days.
Self-Healing
One thing to keep in mind with self-healing is that while it is normally not considered nice or polite to think of yourself before others, sometimes you have to. If you’re run down, how can you hope to be of aid to anyone else?
When I do self-healing, I like to lie on my back and place stones on my heart center, my torso, and my forehead. In addition, I often place a crystal at the top of my head on my pillow to help open the crown. Sometimes the placement varies, depending on what I believe I need at the time.
Please remember that there is no right or wrong in this method. Your intuition will let you know what is best for you. Simply place the stones on or around the body, leaving them there while you take a brief nap or meditation. When you awake, the stones will have assisted you in producing the needed shift, as they did for me.
Healing Others
To heal others, use the same process. I normally work with a massage table. The client is positioned face up to start. Midway through the session, the client faces down, similar to the progression of a massage. I place whatever stones I am guided to use on the body and along the sides of the legs.
Years ago, I was taught to hold a big stone chunk in one hand and wave it over the energy fields of the body. This technique is called an energetic bath, and it is powerful for moving the fields to push out old, unwanted energy while allowing in good, new energy.
Amethyst is my favorite stone to use for the energy bath. Its frequency is higher than most other stones, yet nearly everyone responds to it. I will discuss the energy bath in greater detail in the section on amethyst.
How Long the Session Should Last
If you’ve been trained in Reiki or other healing modalities, one of the most interesting things to do is to work on people in a group setting. The participants normally start with a brief prayer, and then the healing begins. In the silence, it is interesting to notice how the hands of the practitioners will heat up. The hands will cool off at some point, indicating that the healing is complete.
In a group setting, you will see that usually within seconds of each other, the healers will back away and place their hands into the prayer mode.
Gems are similar. In my own self-healing, after “napping” along with the stones, I will suddenly wake up feeling refreshed. I will know that the energy shift has occurred.
Likewise, when I work on others, sometimes I will feel the energy taper off. In several cases, I have seen some stones literally fall to the ground when they are finished working!
It is truly interesting. I encourage you to experiment for yourself to discover what works best for you.
HOW TO WORK WITH GEMS AND STONES
First, we will discuss how you should work with stones. I discovered a wonderful Cayce reading, which I have split into pieces here because it brings up so many important points about how and why stones work.
Selecting the Right Stone
Q: How will I know when I have found this stone that is most useful for my purposes?
A: When there is found that which is sufficiently clear for the transmission of light and that which may be held in the hand for five to ten minutes and then set aside and listening hear the movements or the vibrations given off from the emanations from self.
440-11
The Cayce readings explain beautifully what I’ve been trying to tell people for years—that to a certain extent, the stone chooses you and not the other way around. You simply have to listen and pay attention to how you feel, and then you will know which one is right for you.
I love shopping for rocks. It’s one of my favorite hobbies. Whenever I am around a bunch of mineral specimens, I am like a kid in a candy store. When I first approach a collection of stones, I reach out to pick one up. When you pick up the first stone to which you are energetically drawn, your soul is talking. On an innate and energetic level, you have connected to that stone for a reason.
And if you’re faced with many choices (as I am), you may often put the first stone aside in favor of another that may be more physically attractive. Don’t do it!
As the Source says in the above reading, give it some time, pick it up, set aside both the first stone you saw and then the more attractive one, and think about which one is actually speaking to you. Invariably, it will be the first piece you selected.
Trust yourself to make the best selection. If you quiet your mind and access your higher self, the right choice will be clear. You might question yourself. “Is this right? Should I get something else?” If possible, go ahead and take both, but if you must pick only one, choose the one that buzzes in your hand or gives you an especially positive feeling.
What about Physical Properties?
Q: Should it be translucent to light?
A: Should be transparent, or sufficient for the light to pass through.
440-11
I found this part of the reading to be extremely exciting. I’ve worked with nearly all of the gems in the mineral kingdom over the years because I can’t stop myself from buying them! Some of the stones are translucent, and some are not. Different stones will bring different feelings to people. In the above section of this reading, Source discusses a translucent stone because light passes through it, intensifying the healing.
Many stones vibrate to notes on a musical scale or to colors in the rainbow spectrum. When light passes through the gem, the healing properties are indeed better utilized by the body.
Clear crystal is especially receptive to light, which we will discuss later in the book. Crystals are powerful to work with because they can be used alongside any other stone to amplify the energy and speed up the healing.
I recommend using clear quartz crystals with any of the physically denser stones so that the light will pass through your piece and enter the stone you want to work with, amplifying the desired effects. Try this combination and watch your results improve!
In combining crystals with other stones, you will be more likely to feel the energy. Not everybody is sensitive to healing energy. Some of you are visual, some are auditory, and others are touchy-feely types. The fact that you cannot feel a stone working for you does not necessarily mean that it isn’t working.
I have perused many readings where Cayce recommended stones for people, and they wrote letters back to him saying they felt more mentally at peace while using the rocks but did not necessarily experience any actual energy from them. That is fine!
Just know and believe that it works. Trust that if you are guided to a stone and actually use it, you will benefit from the energy whether that information is in your conscious awareness or not.
How Do I Use Gemstones?
Q: Should this touch the skin wearing it?
A: To be sure. Usually worn, of course, around the neck or over the body, close to the vibrations from the heart or from the breast itself in its vibrations.
440-11
Again, the Source tells us what I’ve been advising—that yes, the stone should touch your body. The vibrational frequencies of any stone will affect you more if they contact the skin. Nonetheless, wearing them this way for one reason or another is not always possible.
Many of my clients are men who will not be caught dead wearing necklaces or jewelry, so they often carry around tumbled pocket stones in their hands or pockets. Tumbled stones are great because they can be taken out from time to time and rubbed during the da
y like worry stones. Whether or not you touch the stones physically, they stay in your energy field and positively influence it. Any time a stone is near you, even if it touches cloth, it affects your energy field. If possible, wear stones against your skin and, as mentioned above, over the heart center so that the vibrational benefits will move throughout the entire body.
What Is the Best Place on the
Body to Place or Wear a Stone?
. . . You are used to influence the stone to an effect, either upon those to whom it may be given or to bring for self the ability to aid in its abilities as raising the vibrations for self. Hence would come over this particular portion, or if desired, for the better training of self—held over that portion of the hollow on the left side above what is commonly called the collar bone.
440-11
It is interesting to note that I have spent a lot of time recommending sodalite as a stone to balance the thyroid. The soft area above the collarbone is the ideal place to lay the stone during a healing session on a massage table.
Reading this information from the Source makes me feel more than ever that we can indeed tap into an actual consciousness in the world of gem healing. Gemstones contain wisdom and healing that surpasses our conscious awareness.
Is One Setting Better than Another?
Q: What is the best method of cutting, and what metals should be used in mounting?
A: Use in cutting the ordinary use for the precious or semi-precious stones, in whatever shapes or forms—that are usually the larger in the center and tapering toward the outer edge. Of course, not too large for the use to be worn. The mountings would be white gold or silver . . .
440-11
Consistent with my past research—and this is not an area I’ve discussed much in other books—I believe the advice that the Source gives here is excellent information. Most of the stone settings for minerals used by people in the metaphysical community are silver. I find this use is due to the cost factor involved with other metals. There is also something to be said for metals themselves and how they affect people. Silver is a feminine intuitive, receptive energy and therefore allows those vibrations to come from the stone into the body.
Yellow gold would do the exact opposite as a masculine, outer energy, and it is understandable that white gold might have more receptive energy than yellow gold.
The Bottom Line
The information in this book will give you different ideas and ways of working with the stones. Using your remarkable wisdom and intuition, only you can decide which stones are right for you. Selecting the right piece for you, honoring your intuition as to which setting attracts you, and knowing how long and when you should use your stone are all conditions that your soul will determine.
In the next section, we will discuss the most valuable stones known to humanity as we delve deeper into the marvelous world of gem healing.
PART TWO
A Note to the Reader
Edgar Cayce’s readings are numbered to provide confidentiality. The first set of numbers refers to the individual or group for whom the reading was given. The second set of numbers refers to the number in the series from which the reading was taken. For example, 254-8 identifies the eighth reading that was given to the subject who was assigned #254. It is important to remember that the readings were given for individuals even though they carry a universality of content. With the physical readings, however, it should be noted that the information is not meant to be used for self-diagnosis or self-treatment. Any medical problems need the supervision and advice of a health care professional.
Unless otherwise noted, the King James Bible has been used for biblical quotations.
2Sacred Stones
The stones listed in this section have played important roles in history and have endured throughout the ages as some of the most beloved and historically important minerals in the world.
AGATE
Agate is a variety of quartz, composed primarily of chalcedony.
Found in: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Iran, Scotland, USA
Named for: The agate is named for the Achates River (now called Dirillo) in Sicily.
• Bible •
And the third row a . . . an agate . . . Exodus 28:19
And the third row . . . an agate . . . Exodus 39:12
Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen . . . and agate. Ezekiel 27:16
And I will make thy windows of agates . . . Isaiah 54:12
• Cayce Readings •
Agate was mentioned seven times in seven readings.
As to the astrological aspects, as we find, these are of the specific activity. The omen the body should ever wear on the person is a Maltese cross or a stone of the agate . . .
500-1
In another fascinating reading, the subject asked Cayce to describe a drawing that would be useful:
In the center put (and this should roll from the right side of the drawing) the twisted cornucopia, and out of same would come rolling the seven virtues—hence seven stones, in the varied colors; from agate . . . indicating meekness . . .
533-20
Hence we find the agate . . . should be stones with the vibrations and under the influence that the entity may find carrying an incense to the finer self that makes for . . . an opening of the inner self for the receptiveness . . .
707-1
As to stones, those of the blue, as well as the agate should be about.
1397-1
. . . the agate should be as an amulet, either about the neck or as a ring, or worn upon the person.
1401-1
More on Agate
Agates exist worldwide in many shapes sizes and colors, and are extremely healing to the body. Both their color and the part of the world from which they originate will affect the healing properties.
One of my favorite varieties is the blue lace agate from Botswana, Africa, which is an exceptional stone to use for communication. Crazy lace agate from Utah occurs in browns and reds and is used to calm the stomach. Agates from this area can assist with your spiritual journeys and meditation and may also help to tap into prior lives that took place in the Wild West.
Another one of my favorite agate stones, which I still have to this day, is a variety from Utah. I call it my UFO agate because the design in the center looks like a flying saucer from the sixties. This agate has sentimental qualities for me because I received it from a dear friend before his death. Stones can bring energy to you by becoming energetic reminders of loved ones or special times in your life.
I think associations with material possessions are interesting. Those items that mean the most to us remind us of a person, time, or place. Holding any such object serves as a time machine, taking us into the past and offering us a sense of nostalgia.
In addition to the fact that an agate brings the user a peaceful sense of being in the world, this stone is nice to have as an anchor to pleasant memories.
I’ve often said that stones find us for a reason—just as friends do—and I believe that this agate from Utah will likely be with me for my lifetime.
Blue Agate
Stones can serve as reminders of lost loved ones or friends. Several years ago, I discovered an excellent variety of blue agate from Oregon, which turned out to be an outstanding stone to use for grief recovery. Once I started working with it, I loved it so much that I featured it as a selection in my “Rock of the Month Club.”
I sent pieces of blue agate to a number of my students and asked them for feedback on what they believed it did for them. Incredibly, their comments were similar to each other and reflected what I already believed about the stone’s ability to bring profound feelings of peace and healing to the user. One student used the stone with meditation and felt a reassuring sense of calm. Another student used the blue agate in the evenings and reported greater ease in falling asleep as well as a
sense of relaxation in the morning. A third student held the stone while watching TV and reported feeling at peace about some trouble at work. All of them liked the stone and its energetic properties.
Stones have energetic properties based on their type as well as their geological place of origin. Blue represents the throat chakra, which relates to how we communicate in the world, yet the color blue is connected with emotional healing. Any emotions expressed verbally originate in the throat center. We often stuff deep inside of ourselves many emotions or thoughts that we want to express—perhaps for the protection of someone’s feelings or for fear of potential negative repercussions. Once a thought occurs in the mind, whether it is physically verbalized or not, it affects the throat center. We will explore this idea further in the sapphire section of this book. Botswana blue lace agate is more of a communication stone, while the Oregon variety of agate aids with emotional healing.
After suffering the loss of my dear cat companion several years ago, I learned firsthand about the fantastic healing energies of this stone. While going through her things, cleaning, and rearranging, I was immediately drawn to my favorite piece of blue agate. The stone seemed to lift the heavy weight of grief from my shoulders at that time, and it also left me feeling more peaceful and serene.
I am convinced that the agate helped me to speed up the necessary processing of the many stages of grief, allowing me to experience and work through all of my emotions with grace and ease.
Edgar Cayce's Sacred Stones: The A-to-Z Guide to Working with Gems to Enhance Your Life and Health Page 2