This is one I found and really find helpful. The site is called Geology.com and it’s jam packed FULL of great information and well worth a visit.
They also have a great MOHS chart that tells you the harness – softness of gemstones, crystals and minerals. Here’s where you can find it : Click here and a new window will open.
Okay so why is this an important site for me? (You may be asking yourself). This chart is not only hand for mineral collectors and those who work with gems to turn them into jewelry, it’s especially handy for someone who wants to wear gemstones. If you don’t realize you are wearing a “soft” stone, you may cause damage to it by wearing it under certain circumstances.
I’m going to show you an example: I often sell pieces of Selenite and I also see it quite a bit offered as healing wands and crystals you might carry around for working with Moon energy.
What you may not know, off hand, is that Selenite is actually from the Gypsum family which is a very soft stone.
On the MOHs scale, its around 2 – that means it will scratch and break very easily. That’s where a handy chart like this might be hand when you are looking at purchasing healing crystals online.
When you can’t feel a gem, mineral or crystal in person, it’s sites like these that can help you to make the right decision on what stone you might like to share your healing journey with.
Tis the time of year once again where we begin looking at pretty paper and ribbons… looking for a special “something” for someone special.
I’ve added a coupon code on my site in case you have been keeping an eye on something you have fallen in love with and this wee little coupon, just might be what you were hoping for. We can all use a little deal now and then.
When you are shopping on my site, just key in the code YULE20 in the cart area to see what your discount will be.
Enjoy and thank you everyone for another wonderful year at Wicked Stones.
Ah the beauty of Hematite…. A little info on it and it’s healing properties.
Hematite is one of those types of stones that you almost always see at a gem show and rock shops you stumble across in your travels. It’s found in various places across the world and that’s probably the reason why it seems like a more commonly seen gemstone. We are usually drawn to it because it’s so shiny and pretty! In it’s natural state, it’s somewhat dull looking but when it gets polished! YOWSA!!
On the MOHS hardness scale, it’s between a 5 – 6, which means it’s pretty hard. The interesting thing about hematite is that it’s also very heavy (or dense). It’s actually a mineral from the Iron Oxide family which gives it more weight that you would expect for the size of the stone. That’s important when you are choosing jewelry online and you can’t hold it, to realize that this gem may weight a bit more than you think. Always ask if you would like to know the weight of your jewelry before purchasing. Personally I have worn hematite rings throughout the years and I have also found that if they are dropped on hard surface, they do tend to break. So if you have a stone ring, take it off carefully when you removing it.
A lot of my clients who I have worked with over the years, have told me how the temperature changes on the gem when they wear it. It begins cool against the skin and then warms to your body temperature, making it a lovely companion piece.
A little side note on Magnetic Hematite: I have worked with it over the years and it’s very important to note that natural hematite is not very magnetic at all. If you are purchasing magnetic jewelry please note that it is treated to achieve this goal. I do sell magnetic jewelry so if you are looking for a piece, please visit Wicked Stones and I may be able to custom make you something special just for you.
It’s interesting to note that in ancient times, Hematite was crushed and mixed with liquids to use as paints. You can find such examples (or pictographs) across the world that date back over 40 000 years! I was lucky enough to visit several locations in our Ontario Provincial Parks that have the most awesome historical pieces (one in Sault St. Marie area and one near Bancroft Ontario).
If you are searching for the healing properties of Hematite, here’s a bit of info for you. Hematite is helpful for the following:
Boosting low self esteem
Protection
Grounding energy (makes you feel centered and strong when life is going a bit wild around you)
Courage to face changes in your life
Reflects back negative energy being directed at you
Hematite is also a gem for your root chakra healing and balancing. The Root chakra is also called the Muladharaor or Base Chakra. This chakra helps you to feel stable and centered with both feet on the ground. Let me put this in a very easy way: You know that feeling you get when life is going a bit wild on you and you just want everyone to stop because you are feeling overwhelmed with so much going on? By working with this chakra, you can help yourself to feel more “centered” in what is happening around you and focused with confidence and strength. Your root chakra is like your tree roots that keep you anchored to the planet and feeling strong!
I hope you enjoyed this little bit of info on Hematite.
Leopard Jasper is one of those gemstones that I’m always picking up and using as I get tired… zzz.. I get tired of working on my website.. tired of answering emails.. blah blah blah.. tired of doing the dishes.. tired of sweeping.. same old same old same old.. I get stuck in a rut and I need a little help to just get me motivated and up over the hump so I can move forward.
Leopard Jasper is one of those stones that imparts a little energy back into your life when things are feeling low and blah. When working with this stone, you can find it within yourself to face the rest of the day and begin to plan what comes next in your future. It does not necessarily being to you what you want but more of what you need. You are strong and you are motivated, you sometimes just need a partner along your journey to bring that out in yourself.
This gem is natural, which means that there is no dye used anywhere to create the colours and patterns you see. But it’s not just visual, these patterns can often be felt with your fingertips as there is quite often times that Leopard Jasper has interesting textures to discover.
Just like the leopard LEAPS forward to catch his or her prey – you too, can leap forward and get on with your daily dreary chores..
Every singe time I get a piece of Kyanite in my hands, I wonder how such a beautiful thing can be this natural! The blues you encounter with this stone are just that.. fully and totally natural.
I can speak from experience on this as I had the pleasure of visiting a Kyanite location, many years ago, with the Sudbury Lapidary group during their annual field trip from the Rock and Gem show. If you have not gone, it’s well worth it. Check out their website for more info by clicking here.
That’s a really old picture of me trying to catch a break while looking through the rubble looking for various types of Kyanite (probably taken about 2003).
Here’s a picture of a few of the rock samples we came home with that day.
If you look real close you will be able to see the lines in the stone. Look closer and you will begin to see the gray and very light blue shades hidden deep inside. Most of the stone is host rock with these picked pieces that we found, but it was nice to see tiny bits of kyanite included.
I have included below, mineral information that can help you to identify what’s in those samples as well 🙂
So now to the Kyanite I’ve been hording back from my site for a while. It is finally time for me to let some of these beauties find a new home.
You can see that the blue in this kyanite pendant is SUPER stunning!! Yes, that shade of blue is totally natural and made by Mother Nature herself.
No dye has been used to achieve this amazing blue shade.
Okay so what’s so great about this stone, besides the fact that it will catch just about everyone’s eye that’s around you and draw them to you?
Here’s a bit of info for you to enjoy and get to know this gem
Healing Properties of Kyanite
It is a stone for the throat chakra. This chakra is all about speaking honestly and openly as well as creativity and self expression. This is an avenue for confidence and being able to speak from your heart.
Is negative energy making you cranky? This gem can help you to feel protected from those slings and arrows being flung at you.
Need to tap into your creative energy and find your muses? Give this gem a whirl and see if you can relax and find it within yourself to let go of what’s blocking those creative flows.
Meditation – relax, de-stress.. you can let go of what is bothering you for a while and heal.
Psychic powers and intuition – a great gem for those who work with divination to help you to trust your first instincts. It can also help you to find your spirit guide in times of need.
If you are meditating on past life information and looking to find answers for a currently phobia that has no present roots in your life? Try working with this gem and see if it helps.
Mineral Information of Kyanite – thank you to the National Audubon Society book Rocks and Minerals (Which is awesome! Get yourself a copy if you are into rock hunting!)
It comes in a variety of colours: blue, white, clear, gray, green, and almost black
Streak colour for testing is colourless
The crystals are Triclinic – more info here on Wikepedia
MOHS scale of hardness: it depends on how this stone is cut – if it is length cut its 4 to 5. If it is cut across the stone it is harder at 6 to 7
It is created by regional metamorphisms and often around quartz, biotite and almadine in gneiss and shist (basically a lot of what you see in the photo above of the rock samples collected in Sudbury Ontario.
If you are looking for more pieces of Kyanite or other beautiful gemstones, feel free to browse my website.. Wicked Stones
Okay I have to say.. I have fallen deeply in love with Jade
I’ve been kicking around pieces of it in the workshop and getting Rob to polish up a few accent pieces once and a while, but not until recently did I start working with larger Jade gemstone beads.
A few years back, I picked up a few strands of the most amazing African Jade beads.. the following bracelet you see in the photo is of one of the bracelets I made just recently. It’s… soooo…. amazing!!
African Jade Bracelet by Wicked Stones
This type of Jade has an incredible weight to it.. the beads are heavy and mixed with the sterling silver accent pieces, this is truly a gem to have around your wrist. I think I’ll be making more of these!! Okay enough babble about things I’m working on.. here’s a bit of helpful info on Jade for you.
Jade is great for the following healing properties:
Releasing bad thoughts and negative energy (now who can’t use that?)
Dream stone.. (add a piece into a dream pillow if you make or use them)
Helps you to self heal
Resolving emotional issues
Good fortune (come on lottery ticket!)
Working with nature
Working with Jade
Rob’s worked with Jade now and then in the lab and usually the pieces he comes out with are quite beautiful. The hardness on the MOH scale is around 6.5 so it’s hard but not so hard that you can’t work with it. To give you an idea, if you are not sure what is what on the MOH scale system, Talc is a 1 on the scale where Diamond is a 10. So when you are in the middle range, it gives you some wiggle room for working. I’ll have to ask him later what polishing compound he worked with that seemed the best.. if you do know, please feel free to add to the comments below.
Jade is certainly one of those stones that you have to be aware of as there are many “wanna-bes” out there. Just a few (and not all) you should look for are items labeled things such as New Jade, Aventurine Quartz (which is green and we’ve collected it locally up here in Canada), Serpentine and Prehnite. You should also do your research before you make any serious Jade purchases to get to know your supplier.
Have a peek.. here’s a few pictures from our trip to collect Aventurine Quartz (or Apple Jade).
There’s Rob, way down in the rock cut bringing up some larger pieces. He made me stay up at the top for safety reasons as this bank was pretty steep.
You can see from the photos that the green is quite beautiful..
I’ll go hunting later to see if I can find a picture of what they look like tumbled…
A few years ago, we lucked into a fabulous batch of gorgeous Quartz that was picked in Northern Ontario.
Just recently, I’ve asked Rob to put a few in the tumbler so that we could see how it would look once it was pre-polished. Originally, our intent was to use it to create a stunning path between our garden beds (or in other areas, as we’re always planning and *discussing* where this or that goes – ha ha).
This is me looking at the pieces pre-tumble:
Vikki Soros working with natural ontario crystals.. aren’t they pretty?
These pieces, at the time, were very very sharp but still amazing looking!
Quartz crystals have a lot of great energy about them. Many who wear and use them, have talked to me about how relaxed they feel as they remove negative energy to transform it to positive. This stone is often used for relaxation, meditation and Yoga practices as it helps to center and focus the thoughts. I do carry a nice selection of quartz on my site if you would like to pop over and have a peek (click here and a new window will open).
The tumbler mix was opened just a few days ago.. after running for over three weeks. And here’s what came out!
Rob Armstrong at Wicked Stones checking out our first batch of Ontario Quartz in the rock tumbler
They turned out incredible!
Ontario Quartz from our Rock Tumbler at Wicked Stones
I’m thinking that over the winter I’m going to start a whole new section on my website (Wicked Stones) that will feature local and Ontario Gemstone jewelry.
I’ll just need more coffee and be able to clone myself to get all these neat ideas we have done 🙂
Cheers everyone! I’ll try to keep this blog more updated this winter..
It’s Cold outside.. brrr.. but Rob is still out there in the Lapidary shop working away on pieces of red Jasper that he picked up in his travels in Northern Ontario.
We’ve gone from the bare rough rock, all the way to polishing it to a gleaming shine (it’s sooo pretty!). The pieces you see in the photo above are about half way through the polishing process. Here he is working on the buffing wheel to try to give it more of a shine.
Rob working in the Lapidary shop with Red Jasper at Wicked Stones
Here’s a picture of how it’s coming along.
Red Jasper from Northern Ontario by Wicked Stones
It’s turning out really amazing so far!
Red Jasper is naturally this colour – no dye has been used to create these rich powerful hues of red, black and white. If you are drawn to this gem, it’s good for helping to combat against exhaustion and for maintaining physical stamina. In Teutonic legend, the hilt of the magical sword of Siegfried (the dragon slayer and ill fated lover of the mystic Brunhild) was inlaid with red jasper to give him courage. I find that it also helps to pick me up (mentally) when I’m feeling low and blahhhh….
Red Jasper has a stabilizing effect on the wearer’s energy keeping them calm and balanced – now who can’t use a little of “THAT” these days!?…
It gets you going on days you need a little extra boost and the ability to stay focused no matter what the day throws at you.
Want to recall your dreams? Try putting this gem under your pillow at night.
Red Jasper is a powerful protection stone against psychic and physical threats and will return negative energy to the sender.
I hope you enjoyed this wee peek into our rock shop…
I know it’s still early for Christmas and Yule shopping.. but I wanted to get this coupon code posted so that if you were looking for something? You could get a few dollars off your orders.
Yes, in my secret world beyond this computer screen, I’m an artist.
I spent several years of my life in College here in Northern Ontario and met some amazing people who helped me to be able to reach inside of myself and bring out my creative side. Being creative is an incredibly healing way of letting your inner thoughts be released into the universe!
An artist is not just one who paints or draws, an artist is someone who writes, or speaks.. or works with various medium that might seem non traditional to others. It might be photography, crafting, working with clay, telling stories, singing, dancing… there are no limits to what lays inside of you that you can tap into for expression.
So now let’s tie my two passions together shall we? Yes, you can use gemstonesto help you to reach inside of yourself to find that creative spark!
How does that work exactly? Well, its tricky since I can’t really see inside of your brain to see how you are personally wired 🙂 So I’ll try to simplify things for you. Gemstones are again, like Trigger tools (like I talked about in my previous post about dealing with stress here in this blog). Working with crystals and gems is an ancient art that has been used for many rotations of our planet.
Gems emit an energy that you can connect to and depending on the stone type, this energy can help work with an area of change you are seeking. In this case, we’re talking today about creativity. Over time, those who have worked with gems have recorded their findings – even my own clients have gotten back to me over the decades to talk to me about how individual crystals work with them and benefit their lives.
Working with healing stones at Wicked Stones
People, just like you, have connected with particular stones for their needs and found that they do help. It has been used for so long now that others have written books about these findings and they are now being used by the masses as reference points to use for gemstone healing.
So how do I use them?
Because stones emit an energy that helps to connect (or align) with your creativity, the best method is to begin wearing a particular type of stone that really calls to you. When I say “calls to you” I mean, that emotionally you get a feeling of “OOOAHH” when you see it and you just know you want to have this in your life.
Let the stone connect with you and be a part of your creative process and be aware that it is with you on this journey. After a time, you and your stone will develop a sort of kinship or bond that you may find will help uplift your mind and spirit to connect with those energies you need for creative thinking.
We are all individuals and a stone that might work for person (a) may not work for person (b). So when choosing YOUR gem, don’t let others try to tell you what you should have. Use your instincts to pick your healing stone, do your research on what a stone can do and then, go with your hearts desire 🙂
Be Creative!
Be Inspired!
You can do it…. 🙂
And ps.. I use gems personally when I am suffering from writers block as well as when I’m working with paints and other artist’s media.
wickedstones.org 