Spring has Sprung
Welcome to the season of Mud! My lawn has gone from frozen to squishy.
The rain is making everything turn green and creating little ponds everywhere.
Oh, that reminds me, if anyone has a good use for dandelions, leaves
or flowers, please send it to
me. My boyfriend hates them but I have not used any lawn treatments
because I had heard they have many uses. And I love their bright yellow
faces!
Ok, this is not what I was going to write about but this just popped
into my head. A couple of years ago when my last cat died, I was, of
course, very sad. This happened late in the summer, almost fall. One
morning while getting ready for work, I happened to look out at the
front yard and saw a lone dandelion facing the house. Now some people
would think Im crazy but you all know what I mean when I say...I
know it was her way of telling me she was ok, the dandelion was a message
from her. I felt a little better as I went off to work, but did not
say anything to my boyfriend as he would have thought I was nuts.
He was attached to my cat too but I didnt think he would "get"
it. I came home to find that lone dandelion in a small vase on my table.
I guess he did get her message too.
Chakras, Wheels of Light in your body
Sorry I got off track there, when I write these I tend to go with the
flow of thoughts in my head. Back to the subject on hand. To go along
with my new Chakra Stone Set , I thought
I would write a newsletter about chakras. Big subject, and not so big.
There are many books telling you about them and how to work with them,
but they are mostly the same. I am fairly new to chakras, having only
heard about them 5 or 6 years ago. We did a meditation in my sister's
Spiritual
Goddess Group that was awesome. I "saw" and felt each
of the 7 main chakras in my body and an associated Goddess with each.
Then about a year ago I received a book when a friend was downsizing
that has three sections: stones & crystals, colors, and chakras.
When I read the chakra stuff, I was fascinated. I can in no way cover
all there is to know about chakras so if you are interested in learning
more then you should get a book on the subject or consult a chakra therapist.
The basics are that there are 7 main chakras, which means "wheels
of light" in Sanskrit. Throughout history, people have been
aware of the chakras. They were known to ancient Egyptians, Chinese,
Hindus, Sufis, Greeks, Mayans, Native Americans, and Incas. Yoga and
meditation are central to the ancient teachings about chakras. Both
of these practices help you to "just be" and in that
state you can "feel" your chakras. There are also 21
minor or secondary chakras and yes, animals have chakras too.
We start with the Root or Base Chakra, called Muladhara.
It is located at the base of the spine, between the anus and genitals
(alright, stop that giggling). Next is the Spleen or Sacral Chakra,
called Svadhisthana, and it is located in the lower abdomen,
between the navel and genitals. The Solar Plexus, Manipura,
is located between the navel and the base of sternum. Anahata,
the Heart Chakra, is easy to find as it is in the center of chest.
Next is the Throat Chakra, Vishuddha, found centered at
the base of the neck. The Brow or Third Eye Chakra, Ajna,
is above and between the eyebrows. And the Crown Chakra, Sahasrara,
is at the top, or crown, of the head.
Each of these has a color, symbol, planet, and much more associated
with them. Way too many to list here. If I get ambitious I might get
a chart on the website (dont hold your breath). Since I just did
a Chakra Stone Set, Ill talk
about how I chose the stones/crystals associated with each.
To create my set, I first researched what stones/crystals are associated
with each chakra. I then checked my stock to see what matched. I did
not have carnelian or citrine. I felt very strongly that I needed citrine
for the solar plexus but was going to use garnets in place of carnelian
for the sacral chakra. When I found the citrine at Mystical Resources
right before she closed the store, I also started looking through the
carnelian she had. I decided to take both stones.
One evening I pulled out the stones I had and, starting with the base
chakra, I put the sets together. First I picked through each container
of stones to find the stones that wanted to be in the sets. The color
for the base chakra is red, so ok, a red stone. The only red stone I
had was garnets, and before I found the carnelian, I was going to use
garnet for the second chakra. The base chakra is grounding and there
were some black stones listed so I thought "what do I have that
is grounding and black?". Hematite, of course. So
there is the first chakra. On to the sacral chakra, I now have carnelian
so that was easy. My instinct was very strong that I needed citrine
for the solar plexus, so that too was easy.
Next came the heart chakra. Most references listed aventurine, which
I had. But as I picked through them something didnt seem right.
I opened the container of jade and these stones just felt "right".
I went with my feelings and used jade. For the throat
chakra, I really wanted blue lace agate but I didnt have any.
I did have sodalite and was planning to use those but once again, something
didnt feel right. The lapis lazuli wanted to be
the throat chakra stone, so I let them.
Now we come the brow and crown chakras. Colorwise, these should be
indigo for the brow and purple for the crown. Most of my references
put a purple crystal for the brow and a clear crystal for the crown.
I had some really nice amethysts for one of these. I also had some crystal
clear quartz, some call it ice quartz. Again I let my instinct direct
me and used these clear quartz stones for the crown and
the amethyst for the brow.
The above refers to the first set I created.
Based on the popularity of the colors associated with each chakra,
I created my second set with those colors in mind, following a similiar
process as described above.
*2013: my sets change a bit depending on availablity of stones. I
still go through the same process for each stone.
I decided to add a bloodstone to each set as they are
used for strengthening and stimulating all the chakras. They also
help align and balance the chakras. *2013:
I now put kyanite with each set as it is the best stone, based on
personal experience, that relates to all the chakras.
Then I cleansed these stones under running water to clear them of any
energies they may have picked up. I laid them out on a white towel,
row by row, going up the chakras. I had 8 carnelian so I made 8 sets.
I cleansed my personal set and put them on the end. I then added bloodstones,
but I only had 7 bloodstones so one set became the "display"
set. Once the stones were cleansed and laid out, I lit some incense
to clear the energy - both in the room and mine. I then held my hands
over each row in turn and aligned the stones with the chakras by voicing
the sound associated with each chakra over each row of corresponding
stones. I went from the base to the crown, and then from the crown to
the base.
The stones were then put into small plastic bags and then into a velvet
bag - to keep other energies from the stones. And now they are ready
for your chakra work. I created a card to go with the sets that has
the name of the stones and the sounds that I used. I do not know the
source of these sounds, Alicia found them in a book. I will get the
name of the source and put it in when I add this to the archive.
From Alicia: "This is the book I found the info on the chakra
sounds that we have used, the ones you used to empower your sets. The
Magician's Companion by Bill Whitcomb. The sounds are actually called
the Bija (or "seed") mantra, which as you know, activates
each chakra with the vibration of the sound."
Chakra Oils
One thing my book didnt cover, and I hadnt see before,
was what herbs/oils went with each chakra. The two books I borrowed
contained this info, altho they did not always match. So here are the
oils associated with each chakra, the first set from The Book of
Chakra Healing and then the oil from Chakras, separated by
a semi-colon.
Sahasrara - Crown Chakra = lavender, frankincense, rosewood
; ylang ylang
Ajna - Brow or Third Eye Chakra = hyacinth, violet, rose geranium
; frankincense
Vishuddha - Throat Chakra = chamomile, myrrh ; lavender
Anahata - Heart Chakra = rose, bergamot, melissa ; rose
Manipura - Solar Plexus Chakra = vetivert, rose, bergamot, ylang
ylang, cinnamon, carnation ; sage
Svadhisthana - Spleen or Sacral Chakra = jasmine, rose, sandalwood
; sandalwood
Muladhara - Root or Base Chakra = cedarwood, patchouli, myrrh,
musk, lavender ; patchouli
So, what to do with this info? First decide if you want to use one
oil or create a blend. Then you can anoint the chakra location with
the oil or blend, you could sniff the oil or blend while concentrating
on the chakra, anoint the crystal you are using for that chakra or even
put the blend in an oil burner. Im sure there are other uses you
can come up with but remember never ingest any essential oil
unless prescribed by a professional herbalist. Also, some oils will
irritate the skin, like cinnamon and bergamot, so if anointing yourself
please use a carrier oil like sweet almond or even olive oil if thats
all you have.
This has inspired me to create chakra oils, however when they will
be available I cannot say. Once I create blends I always self-test to
be sure they wont irritate (I have very sensitive skin so if they
dont irritate me, they most likely wont irritate another).
Also I do not have all the oils listed so I need to aquire them, and
some oils are hard to find. I need hyacinth, violet, chamomile, melissa,
and carnation. If you know of a good source of any of these essential
oils (not fragrance oils) please let me know.
Until next time,
~~~~Rhiannon Rose