Shaman Stones

Shaman Stones All over the world Shamans are linked with the likes of bones, stones and herbs, all of which are considered allies to the wanderers between worlds. Shamans can even be defined by the stones they carry - in life or in death. In some cases graves have been determined by Archaeologists to be those of a Shaman due to stones found within and their placement, such as the so-called Shaman's Grave in Upton Lovell Barrow, Wiltshire, in which a smoothly rounded and polished Snow Quartz stone was found on the Shaman's chest. Just like Shamans before us, Modern Practitioners work with stones in a myriad of ways. They can be allies on our journey through life, medicines, and talismans, tools for divination - such as Rune Stones or Casting Stones, or literally doorways through which we can travel to the Otherworld. They may act as messengers, even today in Costa Rica Shamans blow sacred smoke across stones to pass messages to Spirits in the Otherworld. Stones can also be used for divining and scrying beyond the normal everyday; this is the purpose of the magical Crystal Ball and survives to the modern age as the Dark Scrying Mirror which the Evil Queen consults in Snow White - "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who is the Fairest of them All?" Some Shamans have used stones to diagnose and treat disorders of the Mind, Body and Spirit, and even today most pendulums used for dowsing are made from stones. Several stones around the world are known as Shaman Stones; sometimes this is due to ancient legends and associations, but sometimes it's sadly nothing more than a modern marketing ploy. That said all stones have their own power and medicine, it's all about finding what works with you and your own power stone(s) could just as easily be a simple pebble from a river bed as a semi-precious gemstone. Here are just a few of the stones out there known as Shaman Stones: Amber With its golden tones and the fact it is warm to the touch, Amber has long been associated with the Sun and its Deities. It is said to hold the power of the Sun itself. Amber is formed from fossilised tree resin and was therefore once part of a living being. Some say that Amber still carries the spirit of its parent pine-like tree and so connects us with the Spirits of the Trees and the Forests, past and present. As it is soft and easy to carve, beads and amulets of Amber have been popular for millennia, and amber beads are still popularly used for Pagan Prayer Beads, Catholic Rosaries and Islamic Misbaḥah. Chunks of amber, or its close relation copal, were burned and the smoke used for journeying or smudging. Amber is sacred to the Norse Goddess Freyja who is closely associated with the art of Seiðr - a kind of Shamanic Sorcery which involved journeying, dancing and singing. Amber is an ideal ally for those whose work has magical or physically demanding elements, for those who wish to work with Sun Deities, and for all wounded Shamans as it is inherently a stone of healing the self. Amber teaches us to tap into our own energies and the energies of the Worlds around us. Hag Stones / Odin's Stones / Adder Stones Famous for their alleged protective powers and supposed ability to ward off just about every disease known to man or beast, holed stones have traditionally been hung up in houses, barns and worn on the person. Hag Stones generally refer to flint nodules that have had holes worn into them by smaller stones and the actions of water. Magically such stones have also been utilised as tools through which to see and divine, such as seeing into the Otherworld, seeing Spirits in this world or seeing a person's state of health. They are sometimes known as Odin Stones, after the Norse God of Magic and War, who gave his eye in exchange for wisdom and ritually hung himself upside down from the World Tree in order to discover the Runes. As Adder Stones they were carried by Druids as a kind of badge of office and are mentioned in several ancient Welsh legends as allowing the Hero to see things that are not normally visible to mortal eyes. Lampivaara Amethyst Found in the Pyha-Luosto National Park in Finnish Sápmi, this Shaman Stone is actually a mixture of Amethyst, Snow Quartz and Smoky Quartz, all of which are traditionally magical stones on their own so in combination this is a very wonderful stone indeed. It can have quite milky and dark purple tones to it, making it appear quite Otherworldly. Lampivaara Amethyst is a stone of deep Spirituality and the Soul. Like other Amethysts it enhances psychic abilities, opens the Crown and Third Eye Chakras and connects us to Spirit, but unlike other forms, Lampivaara Amethyst keeps us firmly rooted in our Mother Earth which makes this an ideal stone for any Shaman to work with. It connects us to the Ancestral wisdom, and the wisdom of the animals, plants and the land of Sápmi, home to the Sámi - Europe's only Indigenous People. Moldavite If you work with star beings, star deities, star energies or astrology in any way, then Moldavite is an extremely powerful stone to work with. It has, quite literally, an out of this world energy that people either love or hate. Moldavite is a deep green glassy stone that is found in part of Bavaria and the Czech Republic; it was formed when a meteorite hit the earth. It is ideal ally for those who channel Spirit, undertake Shamanic journeys - especially to deep within or far away to the stars, or who are undergoing changes or transformations (such as puberty, menopause, nearing the end of life, changing jobs, going back to school, getting married/divorced, etc.). Moldavite truly is a celestial stone of transformation that expands our awareness and consciousness. Moqui Stones / Mochi Marbles These little cannonball-like stones are compacted sandstone with a hard iron shell. They are often found in pairs, one of which is considered male the other female. The female marbles are smoother and rounder while the male stones have more texture and more disc shaped. They have been traditionally used by several Indigenous American tribes such as the Navajo and Hopi for thousands of years. In the Hopi language Moqui refers to the Dead Ancestors and the Ancestors are said to return to this world at dusk to play a kind of mythical marbles game with these stones through the night. Used together the paired Moqui Stones can bring harmony as they balance the female, Yin or negative energies with the male, Yang or positive energies. These stones not only link us to three worlds; the Upperworld, Middleworld and Underworld, but they also link us and our present world to the world of the past and our Ancestors and the world to come and our Descendants. In journeying one stone is used to take you to the Otherworld, the Past or the Future and the other to bring you back. Shaman Quartz / Shamanic Dream Quartz / Lodolite Shaman Quartz is a rare form of Brazilian Quartz with inclusions of other minerals such as green Chlorite or brown-orange Feldspar. The inclusions make this an ideal stone for scrying or 'seeing' with and it is said to awaken or help us to develop our inner Shaman and our Shamanic abilities. Shaman Quartz is a stone of psychism, trance work, dream work and meditation that enhances communication with the Spirit World but it also keeps us grounded. It enables us to practically apply what we learn from our Ancestors into our everyday lives. Shaman Quartz is also credited with enabling us to better recall the details of our trance or dream work for a fuller experience. Its older name of Lodolite derives from the Greek for 'Stone of Mud', alluding to its deep connection to Mother Earth. Snow / Milk Quartz Quartz is one of the most abundant stones on this earth and was considered sacred by every ancient culture. Snow Quartz is an opaque white form of quartz with a very soft, gentle energy. Snow Quartz Pebbles were once used to adorn the exterior of the Newgrange Mound in Ireland and they would have made the mound gleam in the light and be visible for miles around. White stones like Snow Quartz have long been linked with healing; St Columba famously had a Snow Quartz pebble that he would dip into water to bless it and create a healing elixir, while a similar stone found in Carmarthenshire, known as the Alluring Stone, was said to be able to cure Rabies. As white is traditionally a colour of Spirits, Snow Quartz is a powerful ally for anyone wishing to journey into the land of Spirit or work with Spirits, especially for healing. 2017 Ceri Norman (ARR)