Kiwi And Kindness

Some crystals I return to and write about more than once, particularly the ones that have had a lasting effect on me and have become personally special. One of these that has become a habitual pocket rock is Lotus Jasper, also known as Kiwi Jasper. The white version of this stone is known as Sesame Jasper – but for writing and alliteration purposes I will refer to it as Kiwi Jasper…

My partner bought me my first piece of Kiwi Jasper in a mixed parcel of points – a wonderful crystal stew of Mookaite, Dalmationite, Opalite…but the delicate green of this point caught my eye. Since I’ve had it, I’ve never taken it off, and it’s one of those crystals that have become essential and part of me – like brushing my hair.

Then, one day, Liz just happened to have just the one palmstone of this wonderful jasper. There are lots of varieties of jasper which can be used for different purposes but generally it is known as the supreme nurturer.

Kiwi Jasper has a comfort to it, a gentleness and love that I was drawn to and it’s a very popular stone for use in healing or spirit work. It enhances the connection to Mother Earth and the universal grid of Love, a nurturing and sustaining stone that brings peace and tranquillity.

Kiwi Jasper will cleanse and align the chakras, absorbing negative energies, whilst uniting and balancing all aspects of your life and bringing calmness and resolve to help you deal with any situation.

This is the green of true Love to soothe anger, calm tension and dissolve grief. It balances the heart and sacral chakras and I love it… I asked Liz whether she could perhaps get some more and I was delighted to see a nest of my special favourite at the next Well Being event. I quite firmly believe that favourite crystals are just like cats and chocolates… you can never have just one. I told everyone about this lovely stone, the key words being Love, harmony, balance.

I met a wonderful gentleman at the shop, shortly after purchasing my palmstone, tested it with his dowsing rods. I didn’t know you could do this but apparently it works like a barometer of the crystal’s pure intent. Something like that. My palmstone was quite high and the man then showed me how to re-progamme it… then I was talking about it to a lady at the event and I mentioned what a kind vibe it has and how it never seems to need cleansing.

She put her hand over mine as I held it and said:

“It’s because it works in harmony with you – the Yang to your Yin… “

Kiwi Jasper brings emotional strength and awareness; with the awareness of Love comes the awareness of balance. We must give and receive in equal measures to achieve a happy state of wholeness.

I have found with age, I’ve learned a little about kindness, one of those indefinable qualities that can be hard to pin down. I don’t mean everyday kindnesses like washing up without being asked… more the sort of kindness that is linked with understanding.

For example: my mother is an almost-obsessive tidy upper and cleaner of her house – it’s a matter of pride, or so I always thought, especially since she has two large dogs. However, the other evening when it was just us, we talked…as grown up women, and the subject of cleaning arose. She told me that she cleans the way she does so I know she’s still capable and I won’t make her give up her house and put her in a home.

I was a little taken aback. I’ve never doubted her sensibilities or her physical capability and I was almost hurt by her even thinking I would do such a thing. Instead of taking offence, though, I tried to understand and reassure her that would never happen…(who would bake me bread then?)

So in conclusion then I suppose what I am saying is that although Love can be limitless and infinite, to be truly kind, you need to have the understanding too. Balance.

Lotus And Laughter

I was at once drawn to this beautiful stone… I have a crystal point necklace in it and I was very taken then, by the gentle greens and greys of this member of the jasper family.

I owe them an apology actually – I dismissed all of them out of hand at one point simply because I wasn’t immediately drawn to Red Jasper… and now they are having the last laugh, laying out their bounty of crystals from Ocean to Polychrome… like a tempting metaphysical cheeseboard… without any of the side effects I seem to have acquired after eating cheese, like double vision and a blinding headache.

Anyway… this palmstone is about the size and thickness of a digestive biscuit, a wonderful mix of translucent green and grey, two of my favourite colours, with a delicate overlay of black spots.

Jasper is a great crystal for comfort and relaxation, so it is sometimes also called the Supreme Nurturer. It’s highly protective and a stone of balance – you’re balanced in yourself, Mind, Body, Spirit, then you can heal more completely and easily.

Lotus Jasper in particular, will bring peace and calm, evoking your ability to relax and deal with difficult situations. It’s healing and soothing, and good to work with for grief, restoring balance to the heart chakra.

Humour and laughter bing balance to Life – it’s not all doom and gloom after all. My son has the ability to reduce me to tears – through laughter, of course, and I find my cats an endless source of laughter. I have a sneaking suspicion, though, that sometimes I provide as much laughter for them as they do me…

I’m usually away with the fairies most of the time, and therefore the perfect subject for stealth attacks. An under-the-bed ambush is guaranteed to produce a rewarding scream of fright and leap in the air – followed by the tap-tap-tap of claw paws running away…

“Ha ha! Got her a good one there!”

Has anyone else ever experienced the crushing weight of panic in a dream and as you struggle back to consciousness with ever-increasing desperation you become aware that no, you really can’t breathe, there’s an awful weight on your chest, perhaps you’re having a heart attack and somehow there’s a terrible smell of catfood …

“Brrp!! Hi! Were you sleeping? Not now – ha ha ha!”

Then Tooty kicks you in the face as she jumps off your chest restoring breath …

Cats definitely have a more subtle sense of humour than dogs… Dogs – at least, my mother’s dogs – are more “Hey, look! I’ll knock you six feet in the air – that’s funny!” And then they jump on you while you are lying on the floor considering whether to call an ambulance or just cut out the middleman and go straight to the undertakers…

So yes. I think living with me, my cats have enough to laugh at and so I can pride myself on my sophistication – if I’m enough to make a cat then I must be pretty cool… I think.

Or is the joke on me…?

Landscape and Legs…

Landscape Jasper is actually a wonderfully comforting crystal, I find. My previous experiences of Jasper were limited to Red, and that really did not resonate with me at all.

I was drawn to this piece purely by chance. After I bought my Picasso Stone sphere, I was looking for something with the same reassurance but a little more … pocket–sized.

All Jaspers have the same metaphysical benefits of being supportive and caring, and is also known as the “Supreme Nurturer”. Its various colours are linked to specific chakras to help balance and align them whilst absorbing negative energy as it is another highly protective crystal. Jasper can also dissipate environmental pollution and connect the physical and spiritual body with the higher realms.

Brown, or Picture or Landscape Jasper is the one that draws me … as warming and soothing as standing barefoot in a field and feeling the connection to Mother Earth, surging upwards through the soles of your feet and into your legs, grounding and comforting, giving you a sense of place in this vast Universe.

These varieties of Jasper are pretty much the same entity, but for the purposes of this post I will refer to it primarily as Landscape Jasper. The clue is in the name … the patterning within the individual crystals looks like landscapes, the rich colours showing its connection to the Earth and awakening ecological consciousness.

Interestingly, Brown Jasper can specifically strengthen the resolve to give up smoking – 53 DAYS AND STILL SMOKE FREE!!

The black etched lines within the crystals are said to be Mother Earth speaking to us, information for those who are able to decipher it. All I know is I find it as comforting as sunshine, the warmth of the Earth and the hum of Life that is omnipresent during the summer months.

Erin demonstrating how to use legs…

Legs … are our direct physical connection to Mother Earth, although sometimes we lose contact with the golden tracery that keeps us bound to her surface. Animals are, by their very nature, physically closer, in tune with the comings and goings within the Universe. How many documented accounts have their been of animals leaving an area before a disaster strikes?

Lily’s legs firmly planted in irritation… “LOOK! Will you stop following me around with that BLOODY pumpkin!”

I must confess I am not a country person … too fond of central heating and hot water… but 21^st century life can be isolating, frightening, depressing. Apart from the scientific benefits of exercising (it releases … endorphins?) the actual physical act of being out and about, and looking, connecting, noticing, can lift the spirits and alleviate depression; and if you have a dog or two to walk with, then so much the better!

‘She walks in beauty, like the night’ (Lord Byron)

You can walk with cats… but I have had some funny looks…!

The isolation of the dark, cold winter months, although they hold their own magic as Mother Earth sleeps; I find they affect me in a not altogether positive way… Landscape Jasper is the letter home.

“LOOK AT ALL MY LEGS!!”

 

Wands and Whiskers

A beautiful example of a spiral Selenite wand (thank you Lizian) these have a pure, high vibration that can be used to direct external influences away from your mind…

Crystal wands and whiskers are both directional and almost magical, not necessarily in the Harry Potter sense, but in the power they bestow upon their user or wearer that enables them to control, sense and manipulate.

It is not entirely accurate to assume the width of a cat’s whiskers are used to judge whether its body will fit through a small gap, as there have been enough comedy clips showing excessively large cats trying to struggle through a cat flap.

Whiskers actually give cats a highly developed sense of touch. Dogs’ whiskers help with their close up vision and are just as important as cats’ whiskers, in that they are rooted in follicles and packed full of nerves. These nerves send messages to the brain and help the dog interpret its surroundings.

Erin has warts to put her whiskers in…

Likewise with cats, their ‘vibrissae’ are located mainly on the top jaw either side of the nose, the cheeks and on the back of the wrists. The whiskers add extra depth to an animals’ awareness of its environment. They inform the cat if danger is near, or an obstacle is blocking its way and assist with the recognition and location of objects in poor light.

Whiskers can also signal how a cat is feeling: when relaxed, they stand out either side of its face, if they are angled forwards, then the cat is hunting, excited or playing. Then, of course, there all the positions in between… Ting has been known to sleep with her whiskers mashed up backwards against something… most uncomfortable looking.

This feline semaphore is handy for any cat owner to learn as both warning and indicator, vibrating with messages and energy rather like a crystal wand…

(The two on the left are Amethyst, the three on the right Fluorite) Amethyst wands can be used to awaken the Brow chakra and encourage intuition, remove blockages from the Sacral chakra and aura whilst providing healing and protection. Fluorite wands have a soothing, anti-inflammatory energy. A small wand can absorb a lot of stress and must be regularly cleansed in water or it may break.

Most wands are artificially shaped, although you can get naturally occurring crystal wand formations. Obviously they are perceived as the traditional tools of the shaman and healers of older cultures, but they are still used today.

Always use Obsidian carefully. It will bring negative emotions to the fore so you must be ready to deal with these. Once they are resolved, the wand will protect the user and connect them Earthwards. 

As you can imagine, the self-contained structure of a wand will focus and intensify their particular energy. My son’s lovely crystal lady, Lizian, gave me some information regarding the use of wands… basically think of them like an aura ‘clothes brush’. You can programme your wand to be used for cleansing and healing by just consciously thinking about what you are doing and ‘brush’ the badness away from your aura. Similarly, wands can be used to channel healing energy into your body and direct negative away.

Vesuvianite, (on the left) also known as Idocrase: this instills you with the courage to change and find your own true path whilst confronting hidden fears and changing negative thought patterns. Rainbow Jasper (on the left): a wholesome healer whose many colours link it with all the chakras to encourage balance in the physical body and intellectual focus.

Become aware of the healing power of the Universe and allow your wand to focus and direct it for your use. Allow it to become an extension of your Self, as sensitive and receptive as cats’ whiskers.

I’ve got the whole world in my hands…

Words and last image ~ Samantha Murdoch

All photos ~ Alex Marlowe

I couldn’t leave it alone. It caught my eye as I was casually poking about in Lizian’s crystals. I walked away. I came back and looked at it-not touched, just looked…I went home.

The next week I returned: I looked for it at once. It was there. It spoke to me-it’s not often I get these “awarenesses”, but it spoke irresistibly to me of times long passed and forgotten, of lives lived centuries ago, landscapes that had risen, and fallen, and evolved…

This is Picasso Stone, a type of Jasper, a sphere about the size of a cricket ball with the weight of centuries within its compass. I am not usually drawn to Jaspers, although they are a beautiful, useful and varied crystal. I tend towards lighter colours, the translucency of Clear Quartz, the lucent calm of Rose Quartz and the soothing balm of Amethyst.

And yet I was drawn to this unassuming sphere, smooth and tactile, a sand-coloured orb banded with concentric rings of biscuit. At one “pole” there is a broken half circle of a darker brown, and it is capped by an almost caramel shaded blotch… The other pole is parchment coloured where fractured lines of grey and brown converge. Off to one side is an island shape of light mahaogany.

The whole sphere is wonderfully tactile and smooth, the texture soft and satisfying, the sort of thing you want to rub against your top lip to experience fully… ( No? Just me on that one then…) Obviously I bought the Picasso Stone sphere. Something that called to me that strongly must have something important to say.

As my son was arranging these, they fell into the shape of a dinosaur footprint… appropriate…

Picasso Stone is a variation of Landscape Jasper, but as with all this family, they can be used to support you during times of stress and restore tranquility. It is a very protective stone and will enhance your ability to enjoy life. It brings hidden creativity to the surface and helps you make considered decisions. In addition to these general benefits, Picasso Stone promotes the thought processes. As a variety of Landscape Jasper, it can also open pathways to past memories. T he markings on these crystals are said to be Mother Earth’s communications to her Children, hidden knowledge and teachings that can transform the way we live.

I sped off home with my newly acquired Picasso sphere, and when the moment was right, sat down with it to get to know it a little better. It’s not often I have such a profound response to a stone… African plains, caves, huntsmen, forests, fields… vivid and haunting burnt their images onto my eyes and I was there, I was home. A flash of memory, so intense it must float in everyone’s DNA… racial, inherited, collective. Walking, walking with my family, leaving the cool forest behind and walking into the sunlight, warm, hot, strong, almost like a weight across the shoulders. So intense a memory, so vivid a feeling it brought tears to my eyes. The soft swish of grass brushing against my arms as the family moved on, scents of hot grass and sense of family, so strong and new…

It fascinates me. I can’t leave it alone, cave paintings, bison and horses, Lascaux and Africa, Pangea and continental drift. A sense of connected-ness, continuity, wholeness and family. Mother Earth and her children.

A bit of fun… me as a miniature cave drawing being chased by a giant Princess Charlie

 

 

The title of this post is derived from the song: ‘He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands’, a traditional American spiritual that has since been covered by artists such as Glen Campbell… thanks Wikipedia for that information