The first winner has come forward!

Thanks to everybody who entered the first Amethyst Qu stone giveaway. I have now heard from winner, and I have shipped N.T. of Indonesia her one pound box of polished Lucky green moss agates. It was fun. I plan to publish my new free ebook -- and to post a new giveaway -- in the upcoming weeks, so watch for that. Thanks!

A Surprising Source of Prosperity Stones

Is there a hidden source of prosperity stones just waiting to be picked out of your aquarium gravel? Let's take a look at some photos of my own gravel that I took myself and see what we find.

Don't laugh. Rockhounds will inspect all of their gravel -- even their driveway and garden gravel -- in hopes of finding their newest treasure. Even if you don't have a driveway or a garden, you may have a hidden treasure right there in your goldfish bowl. If you've already read Crystal Cash: Fast Easy Money Magick Using Popular Stones, then you know that's how I got started.

I get the impression that a lot of aquarium gravel is just cleaned-up scrap from lapidary shops or quarries -- the tiny bits of crushed stone that aren't useful for jewelry or other designs. So they end up being polished in a huge tumbler and sold for something like a dollar or two a pound at the Dollar Tree or Big Lots.

As it happens, Quartz is one of the most common minerals found on the earth's crust. In fact, there is only ONE more common mineral, Feldspar. So the odds are high that your gravel has some quartz pebbles in it. Sometimes it's just white milky Quartz. And sometimes it's one of the beautiful color variations, like Amethyst (purple quartz), the classic crystal clear Quartz, Smoky Quartz (brown to black), or Green Quartz.

All of these variations on the theme of Quartz have been used in stone magick for literally thousands of years. Both clear Quartz crystal and Green Quartz are highly honored in gem folklore for their use in drawing money and prosperity, or changing your luck for the better.

Maybe it's time you gave that little bag of gravel from the dollar store a second look. You never know what you might find.

Know Your Prosperity Stones #8: River Pebbles

Pebbles from Lake Erie by Amethyst Qu

You can spend as little or as much as you want on the stones you use for prosperity magick.  In my book Crystal Cash: Fast Easy Money Magick Using Popular Stones I tried to exercise some awareness about where people are coming from.  If you're already dripping in diamonds, you probably aren't seeking out a magickal source of help to change your financial condition.

So I assume that most newbies to Crystal Magick are looking for inexpensive, fast-working stones they can easily find at a low cost.  

In my opinion, one of the most legitimate reasons for using magick is to even the score. We all know that some people are born with more.  You can work hard and study hard, but the rich person can work hard and study hard and not have to have a side job.  They have an advantage. Nobody has more than 24 hours in a day, but they have a nanny while we have a double-shift.  So sometimes we may feel a need to resort to magick because otherwise we're never going to catch up. 

And that's a perfectly fine use of magick.  It is not wrong to want your share of the beautiful things and experiences this life has to offer.  We are here to appreciate the beauty of this world. 

Using magick to play catch-up is an ancient use of these tools  -- and probably one of the reasons that the rich and powerful sometimes feared and hated the humble village magick worker.

But it isn't always easy.  

In fact it's hard -- very hard -- to get out of your own way to develop a prosperity mindset when you feel you're hopelessly behind.  And that's where the stones come in.

Ever try to sit down and meditate when you're crazy with worry?  Didn't work very well, did it?  You need something to focus on that's outside of yourself.

Stone magick can help you do that.  Stone magick is light and fun and not really considered all that scientific.  It's play.  No pressure.

And what's more "no pressure, no worries" than river pebbles?  The wonderful thing about pebbles found in a stream or river is that they cost nothing, it's fun just to drift along picking and choosing the ones you'll take, and they can fit easily into a pocket, change purse, or medicine bag.  

Some of you have probably seen the five pebble protection spell floating around Pinterest.  There's nothing to it.  Find five pebbles that call to you.  Put 'em in a bag.  Carry 'em in your pocket.  That's it.  And yet you may feel a powerful sense of protection around you.

What does protection have to do with prosperity?  A lot.  If you're anxious and tense, you may be closed to opportunities.  You may be fearful of trying new things.  You may be afraid to meet new people.  The whole world is out there for you, but you're getting in your own way.

To be honest, I don't think you even have to carry five pebbles.  I think it's fine to pick ONE pebble and put it in your pocket.  Pick a stone that feels particularly good against your fingers after being rounded over the ages by the force of water.  Carry it for awhile.  When you feel stressed, hold it or even fiddle with it like a classic worry stone.  I think you'll be pleased. 

Amethyst and Smoky Quartz from Diamond Hill, South Carolina

Diamond Hill Smoky/Amethyst Cluster  photos by Peachfront Press

Today I want to take a quick look at an unusual quartz that can be mined in Diamond Hill, South Carolina.  A rock club from Louisiana visited the Diamond Hill Mine, and one of the rock hounds found and brought back this beautiful crystal cluster.  It weighs over 50 pounds so it's a heck of a specimen.  But what's really interesting about it is that it usually looks like Smoky (Blackish) Quartz.

Yet from some angles, in some light, you can definitely see the purple cast of true Amethyst crystals among these stones.  

It is not an easy effect to photograph but maybe you can get a glimpse from this close-up: 

Detail of giant Diamond Hill cluster by Peachfront Press

Hmm.  Or maybe not.  But the smaller crystals in the center bottom have a distinctively purple cast in person.

To me the Diamond Hill crystals are a perfect example of the close relationship between Smoky and Amethyst. In my opinion, they both have a soothing, spiritual, and anti-anxiety kind of energy.  I don't offer healing advice -- that's way beyond my pay grade! -- but personally I think these two stones work very well together and that they have similar (or at least very compatible) energies.


Note:  The particular cluster in the picture may be for sale but only to someone who can arrange to pick it up in southeast Louisiana.  It is too heavy to ship.  But if you'd like more information, please contact Elaine Radford at Peachfront Press.

Know Your Prosperity Stones # 7: Coins, Coins, Coins!

Foreign coins photo by Amethyst Qu

Strictly speaking, coin magick isn't crystal magick.  But, in practice, you're going to find out that the same person who likes to get out and hound for crystals is often the same person who likes to pull out the metal detector and search for coins.  Whether you're seeking minerals or money, you're hunting for treasure -- an ancient instinct that goes back to our dragon ancestors.

What?  Did I hear somebody say they don't have any dragon ancestors?  Don't be too sure.  Or maybe it's somebody you were in a different life.  I sometimes think I was a dragon with its jeweled tail curled around and around a hoard of gems.  Or maybe I was a pirate.  

In any case, when I think about stone magick, sometimes I think about coin magick too.  The lore is very ancient.  Anyone who has ever read a book on mythology -- or even a modern urban fantasy -- probably knows about the coins put on a dead man's eyes.  But coin magick doesn't have to be dark and grim. 

Here's an easy way to draw good fortune using coin folklore from Japan.  Simply choose a Japanese coin with a hole in it and wear it on a cord or ribbon.  

I also keep one of these "hole-y" coins in my change purse to help draw good luck to my own personal money bag.  I like the symbolism, don't you?

Photo credit: Japanese coin by IvanWalsh.com via Flickr under a CC 2.0 license

There's a more challenging exercise in coin magick out there based on the old saying, "See a penny pick it up, all the day you'll have good luck."  There's a guy called Stuart Wilde who pretty much wrote the classic essay on his experience with this.  Here a Penny, There a Penny.

He preaches that if you want to draw more money into your life, you have to be open to take the money the universe sends your way.  So if you see a penny on the ground, you're supposed to pick it up instead of sending the universe the message of, "Eh, I don't need that."

You know the concept of the magical sacrifice?  Sometimes what gets sacrificed is your dignity.  Wilde's story involves a white satin suit in front of the opera house on a muddy day while the friends in the limo look on in astonishment at this dude chasing down a penny in the gutter.  Definitely worth the read.

Anyway, for a few years, I practiced picking up pennies as a way of being mindful that the universe is trying to throw money at me.  One day a light bulb went off in my head.  You only have to pick up the penny.  If it makes you feel cheap to hold onto the penny, it's OK to put it right back down for the next person to take it.

Try it.  I think you might like the results.  

Know Your Prosperity Stones # 6: Copper, Metal of Venus

Copper & Calcite photo by James St John via Flickr under a CC 2.0 license

I talked about copper, the ancient metal associated with the Roman goddess Venus, in my book Crystal Cash.  We may not always think of the goddess of love in association with wealth and luxury, but without love, the birds don't sing and the grass doesn't grow and the planet as a whole ends up in a pretty sorry state.

So there seems to be a logical association in the ancient mind that links prosperity, agriculture, love, and beauty.  Maybe not a billionaire's level of prosperity.  But the concept of enough and just a little more so that you feel luxurious.

I have several slabs of Michigan copper cut from rough stone like you see in the top photograph from James St. John.  It's a beautiful material even if you just collect it for its looks.  But you could also use it as a sort of mini prosperity altar.  Put a Arkansas quartz crystal on top or maybe even a small grid of tiny quartz crystal pebbles and points -- and let the magick multiply.

I also like to keep bowls or jars of copper pennies.  Whenever I find them, I add them to the jar.  Even though a penny -- or even a whole jar of pennies -- is not a lot of money on the material plane, I find that it acts as a magickal magnet to draw more unexpected money.  

Give it a try and see how it works for you.

Old copper pennies photo by Nic Mcphee via Flickr under CC 2.0 license

Know Your Prosperity Stones #5: Crazy Lace Agate

I talked a lot about Green Moss Agate in my book Crystal Cash: Fast Easy Money Magick Using Popular Stones (Exploring Crystal Magic Book 1). But there's another stone, Crazy Lace Agate, that I've done a lot of work with on the physical plane. I wasn't ready to talk about it in my book, because I haven't done enough metaphysical work with it. But I've done a lot of work with it in my polishing and art projects. And I've been getting some questions about it. So let's talk. All photos on this page courtesy Peachfront Press.

It's hard to put exactly into words what Crazy Lace is. It's usually more of a banded (and sometimes orbed) Chalcedony, usually from northern Mexico, that comes in a variety of distinctive colors and patterns. Yes, there are whites and greys. But there are also pinks, reds, browns, and golds. Sometimes there are a few pieces that are translucent -- I have some Crazy Lace that's truly a pink and white candy-colored Agate. Often it's a more opaque material and the beauty comes from the patterns you find within.

Here is a gold Crazy Lace Agate sphere from the Peachfront Press personal collection. The material came from Chihuahua, Mexico, possibly the La Fortuna mine. Please note that Peachfront's photo is copyrighted and used by permission. Ask before you republish it elsewhere. This item is not for sale.

I'm rather cautious with suggestions for metaphysical crystal work until I've tried them out. But I do know that patterned Agate and Chalcedony has a long-standing history of being associated with wealth and power. I've been happy with Green Moss Agate for my money-drawing purposes, but I should probably branch out a little and give my Crazy Lace Agates their shot. At this time, I've been using it mostly as an inspirational material for my art. I'll be honest. For me, it's one of those stones that grabs me with its personal beauty. But it makes sense that surrounding yourself with beautiful things is a great way to feel wealthy. And, by the law of attraction, if you feel wealthy, you can draw more wealth.

I'd be thrilled to hear about other people's experiences with this stone. Tweet me Follow @AmethystQu to share your stories.

For now, let's visit the photo album. Here's a collection of polished baroque Crazy Lace Agates in brown, pink, red, and white/gray:

Here's a nontypical Pink Crazy Lace:

Here's a nice hand specimen with a more typical pattern:

Three pieces of brown Crazy Lace Agate -- two polished cabs and one tumbled wire-wrappable:

One of the favorite cuts from the Peachfront Press Collection: