--by Kirsten Houseknecht

(Part Three: Magical use and Ritual Purification)

Most of the sales people in jewelry shops will not know much about the magical uses of the stones they sell. Even many excellent, magically knowledgeable, jewelers are only familiar with the more popular stones, or the ones they personally work with, and may not know anything at all about stones they deal with less often. Beware the jeweler who cannot, or will not, explain the content of their merchandise and its care! (Do be considerate; do not ask for a detailed discourse when the jeweler is busy.)

The best way to learn about the magical properties, care, and value of stones and metals is to educate yourself before you buy. I suggest reading the gem and jewelry buying guides, several of the gem and mineral books, and a few of the magical books on jewelry or gems, before shopping. Please be aware that many of the less well known gems and stones have been left out of the “popular” books, as they are concentrating on stones that are more often encountered.

Ritual Purification or cleansing should be done with any piece you wish to use for sacred or magical work. This will remove any previous vibrations, and help attune the piece to you. Every tradition has its own methods of purifying magical jewelry, but however you choose to magically purify your jewelry, you must always be careful that you do not mundanely damage it! If you immerse a string of beads in water to purify them, you must remember that the string may be weak until it dries (depending on the material of the string) and will need to be supported. You should not use magical oils on a porous stone (like Amber) unless you are certain the oil will not damage the stone! No piece of jewelry that could be worn will be damaged by sprinkling dry salt over it, or waving the piece through incense smoke, so those methods are quite safe. Exposing your Amethyst ring to a small amount of sunlight for purification will not harm it, but leaving it for several hours or days in a sunny window may bleach the color.

Here is a general method of purification and magical charging that is safe for all the stones I am familiar with. First create sacred space, or cast the circle in the method of your choosing. Pass the item through incense smoke high enough over the point of heat that it is only warm to your hand, and invoke the purifying nature of Air and Fire. Lightly sprinkle water and salt (mixed together or separately), or water and then sand, over the piece and invoke the purifying nature of Water and Earth. Repeat these steps, this time invoking the Blessings of each Element, and then a third time invoking the power of each Element. Then hold the item in your left hand and ask that the Gods (or the Divine, or the Energy of Nature, etc) banish all negative energy from this item, that it may be used in service and love. Transfer the item to your right hand and ask the Gods to fill this item with power that it may be used in strength and blessing. This is a good opportunity to read from any holy works of your faith (like the Charge of the Goddess) about what qualities are desired. (In the Charge of the Goddess, for example, is the line, “Let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you.”) Then dismiss the Elements and Gods in your usual fashion, and open the circle. Remember to ground any excess energy, either in your typical fashion or into the item.

If you will not be wearing the item immediately you will want to place it in a protec-tive and appropriate container (a red bag for a fire aligned item, etc). Most people are familiar with the protective qualities of silk, since they wrap their tarot cards in it, but the Norse considered Linen to be even more protective. Another protective container for magical jewelry is wood, especially Cedar or Oak, or Silver.

Consider stitching,, wood burning, or painting protective sigils on your magical jewelry storage. This does not need to be obvious! Place a guardian animal on it, or use protective embroidery designs, like cross-stitch.

(to be continued next issue)

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