Philip's Crystal Blog

This is simply MAD! As many of you will know, and if our colonial friends weren't aware you are now, that postal prices in the UK are on the rise. That's OK, these things happen and we were informed that the costs would be increasing about 2 months ago. The only problem with this is that no one will tell me what the new rates are. The headline prices have been announced but not the detail. So we know it will cost over 10 shillings to send a second class letter. Lord knows how much a first class one will be! Ten bob to send a letter. I still clearly remember my first ten shilling note. An Uncle gave it to me for my seventh birthday and I was amazed at how much money this was. I could buy over 100 bars of chocolate or 60 bags of chips! In seven days’ time I won't be able to buy a stamp.

And the crazy thing is that despite taking all this extra money that they’ll be charging me they can't even be bothered to explain the new price structure. It's not on their website. It's not in their glossy leaflets they send to all their business customers. The kind man behind the counter in our local post office doesn't even know, he hasn’t been told... he doesn't even know who he should ask! Then I thought, I know, the company who supply our franking machine must know because they'll be updating the software. So I called them... they don't know. 

Alright, so all I have to do is change the prices for the five types of delivery we offer to four world regions. Except now there are no longer 4 world regions but five. The Royal Mail has obviously increased the size of the planet so they can cope with all the paperwork from their complaints department. Once I discover the new world - that's the Royal Mail's and not the Colonies... Berkeley in the 70's was quite a discovery!! Anyway once I've worked out which bits of the world have moved… and where they’ve moved to… and how much more than ten shillings it will cost to send you a crystal or book or CD or even a packet of incense, I will let you all know.

In the meantime here’s some crystal advice…

Dim the lights, sit comfortably, play some relaxing music such as the new Angelic Reiki album and light some incense from the Nitiraj Gold Select range and a candle if you like. Hold a calcite crystal to calm down and gently allow any thoughts of the Post Office to disappear into the ether… Gently breathe and imagine your local Royal Mail sorting office surrounded by tourmaline, it’s a wonderful crystal that will both protect you from their insanity and help their own mental health and promote healing. Then make a crystal grid with 4 quartz crystals in the shape of a star and add a black crystal in the middle, obsidian is perfect for this. Ask your guides to help, and wish for whatever you would like. As your guides will have to work overtime to help anything you order arrive through the post I’d suggest that you add something energetic such as carnelian or garnet to your new crystal grid... Allow yourself to breathe again and when you feel ready run a hot bath, add rose quartz crystals or tumble polished stones to the water and your favourite bubble bath mixture too. Get in and soak up the relaxing and revitalising rose quartz crystal energy. Affirm to yourself that you will never, ever again phone the Post Office Customer Services.

With all this talk of weddings in the air I thought this may be a good time to revisit crystal wedding gifts and ideas.

There's the obvious, but still beautiful, rose quartz for love and friendship, angel carvings to represent the couple's heavenly love, crystal hearts to represent love, amethyst for the couple's spiritual love, relationship and health, the all singing all dancing clear quartz crystal, jade for wisdom and rhodochrosite for… well perhaps that should have been given at the hen night!!

But how about crystal wedding favours. The joy of the happy couple sharing something from their day with their close friends and family.  A beautiful idea that can be inexpensive too. A small pouch of crystals either from our treasure chest mix or specifically chosen ones. Several happy couples have recently give everyone a rose quartz crystal to help them share their love to all their friends and family on their special day.

One loving bride and groom selected 4 different large crystals to mark the path through a country house grounds to their outside ceremony. Another devoted pair marked a similar path with tumble polished amethyst and yet another with our treasure chest mix.

If it's a special gift for close friends or family then perhaps a large amethyst geode or cluster or a quartz crystal cluster bed would be the perfect unique gift.

Whether large or small crystals will always provide a unique and special gift to treasure for ever.

Why don't you add your own comment and ideas here too. And if you need help planning crystals for your special day just contact us and we'll try and help.

Best wishes and our love and crystal light to the happy royal couple and everyone else getting married :-)

The night of Wednesday 19th January...
I didn't sleep at all. And the weird thing is that several other people have mentioned that they had a bit of a time with the full moon too. Then two other facts were rammed into my consciousness. Firstly it was the first full moon of 2011 and secondly that it wasn't just my energy aware friends who were noticing their reactions but some neighbours and friends who do not usually comment on these esoteric matters at all. One person emailed that they were leaving their dream research for another time and another asking which crystals they could carry to calm them down and help them cope. Well if you're suffering with the full moon try carrying or wearing aquamarine, moonstone, tourmaline or rose quartz to help balance the effects of the full moon and ruby to enhance the shifting energy for your benefit. Or you can place any or all of these crystals under your pillow at night.

 I noticed that this first full moon in 2011 has affected so many people, that something just has to be happening. One friend suggests that we are entering exciting times and the beginnings of energy shifts in so many people are a sign of this. I think these shifts have been occurring for a while and that more and more people are beginning to be aware of this reality. But it doesn't matter which way round you look at these events; more people are raising their consciousness to a higher level.

For more information on important 2011 dates click this link and scroll to January 2011 and  January 2011 update
News - new shipments - new workshops

I keep being asked about combining crystals, which crystals can you keep together? which crystals work well together and crystals that amplify other crystals. The simple rule (if there are any rules?) is that you can keep any combination of crystals together. Many people say that when they combine crystals they all work better. As each crystal is working not just on a specific issue but on an aspect or specific cause of the issue it is hardly surprising to find this. For example rose quartz, moonstone and chrysocolla all improve fertility but all work slightly differently. One will be the right one for you but we have little idea which (you could dowse these with your crystal pendulum). When you combine all three they always work, so they "appear" to be working better as a group than one by itself. As crystals work by balancing whatever they're working on, if you don't need a crystal it will just look pretty and do no harm.

There are many crystal combinations that work well together such as citrine and crazy lace agate for confidence or tourmaline and smokey quartz (smoky quartz)for protection. There are obviously too many to go into, the positive combinations are endless, so try them for yourself.

Ruby amplifies the effect of any crystal it's placed near. Other crystals are reputed to do this too such as green fluorite and diamond. And some change the effects like Herkimer diamond which brings out the spiritual side of any other crystal.

But, as I said, there are no rules... so try your own combinations.

Christmas Crystals All sorts of things happen when the festive season starts. Some wonderful, some interesting and some of them can appear absolutely disastrous!

So what is it that causes half the planet to go into a tiz? How is it that even those who plan their festivities months in advance, you know the really organised people of the world, still have a mad rush because Aunt Edith has decided to come for lunch? Why has Dear Aunt Edith chosen today to come for lunch? She hasn’t been to us for two years and she expects lunch… She’ll expect a glass of sherry too... And what about a present? And do the kids have to give her presents too? Oh I forgot to tell you, its quarter to three in the afternoon and the date is 24th December!

First thing is to calm down. In fact don’t wait till Christmas Eve, calm down now. Relax, chill, and meditate. Try a little meditation because just ten minutes a day for a couple of weeks before Christmas will help you relax, change how you feel and make it easier for you to cope with the festivities.

I was thinking… what else happens and how can crystals help to make your life better?

Well, amethyst clears the air. An Amethyst geode (also known as a cathedral or cave) placed in a living room or dining room will help to clear and energise the air. It will make your whole home feel fresher, calmer and more welcoming.

Calcite is also very calming. Red and honey calcite are good for physical relaxation. Blue calcite works on the mind to ease any worries, whilst the green variety of calcite will help soothe your emotions and feelings. For spiritual tranquillity surround yourself with golden calcite that brings a blissful feeling to both you and those around you.

Rose quartz is the stone of love, peace and goodwill. Like a bubble bath for your emotions, its energy washes over you and gently bathes your heart in gentle pink crystal light washing away the hassles and stresses of the day. It’s a wonderful feeling on dark winter nights (or any time for that matter). Try putting some rose quartz in your bath to refresh your skin and soak any aches away and help you feel younger.

If you feel you need an energy boost, hold a garnet crystal for half an hour or carry it with you all day. It’s great for a detox and cleanses the blood so it will help rid you of all those festive toxins too!

Brightening up both your home and your energy is easy with quartz crystals. Put a cluster in any room to add sparkle, hang crystals from your tree or windows (faceted hanging crystals will generate rainbows of light when the sun hits them) and carry a small crystal with you.

Take care if you’re travelling to family or friends over the festive season. This time of year people always seem to be in a hurry or distracted by thoughts of what they’re going to buy or cook and for whom; so even if you are the most careful driver on the road others may not be as focused as they should be. Whether it’s a walk to the local corner shop or flying to see relations in Australia, carry turquoise to protect you whilst travelling and keep you safe from misfortune.

Of course not everyone enjoys the festivities and some people find this time of year emotionally difficult. Apache tears help to release deep seated emotions. If you feel uncomfortable approaching this season keep an Apache tear with you. It will help you to gently let go of the past and slowly feel better about the festive season.

Aqua aura balances your energy field and protects you too. It adds colour, lifts you up and lets you down slowly. It gives you extra strength when you need it. And if you want to get away from it all it titanium quartz is great too as it aids astral travel and access to other dimensions. Angel aura quartz helps you connect to your angels guides and relatives who have passed over.

Now if your neighbours keep having noisy parties and don't invite you try putting a piece of pyrite on each window ledge. It’s magical and in no time at all you won’t even notice them.

And after it’s all over malachite will help you have a peaceful nights sleep.

Whatever you choose to celebrate I wish you a happy and peaceful festive season.

Merry Christmas

Philip

Surprisingly this is a question I am often asked! :-) Of course the real question is which crystals will help fertility and the answer is simple. There are 3 crystals that will definitely help: chrysocolla, moonstone and rose quartz. And the advice is always to work with all three together. They work in different ways and you never really know the reason, unless it's a serious physical one, in which case we can't really help facilitating pregnancy, but can still help you come to terms with your situation.

Chrysocolla works on both physical and emotional levels, moonstone on hormonal balance and emotions and rose quartz on mental and emotional balance. When there's no medical reason why you can't get pregnant there is always an emotional issue which may be concious or not. In fact, it's common for you to have absolutely no idea what the reason is. Trust the crystals and as I said, work with all three thither as they are all working slightly differently.

I've also seen great success with Reiki and reflexology too, especially when combined with crystals.