Jet - The Black Amber

I have been working with several dark stones of late and one The Dreams of Isis custom order in particular has Jet, The Black Amber, as a major component.  I had not worked with it for several years and I was surprised I did not remember how lusterless Jet can be prior to polishing - yet how enjoyable the energies are - in the manner of amber and petrified wood.  Different from stones such as regular igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary rock Jet is not a true mineral but fossilized wood formed from wood that has been immersed in water for millions of years and subjected to compression,. hard jet is from carbon compression and salt water while soft jet comes form fresh water.  

Jet is called the Black Amber even though it  is not Amber it does emit an electrical charge like amber when rubbed and like amber it is fossilized organic material.  I found the energy of Jet to be a wonderful stimulater of thoughts - making me more alert with solutions to tricky issues coming to mind easily. Jet is wonderful for absorbing negative energy, warding off psychic attack and allows us to uncover past negative issues - dealing with these past life.karmic issues.  Jet is said to not only help with controlling demons but in controlling them as well.

As a wonderful absorber if negative energy Jet is said to be the stone of sympathy helping us deal with pain and suffering giving us the needed support to work though these physical and karmic pains.  "According to legend, jet worn continuously on the body, is thought to absorb the wearer's soul. While this is true of many stones, jet was thought to be especially powerful, and such stones were carefully guarded, for in the wrong hands they could be used to manipulate their original wearer." (Shimmerlings 2012).  I look forward to working with this wondrous "stone" more in custom orders  and personal workings.  I find this fossilized organic material opened new doors in my creative soul and gave me new understandings of the human hearts.

Special Pieces - Special Gifts

Creating special pieces and amulet gifts  have consumed most of my spare time, when I am not working at my regular day job.  My custom pieces have been in the form of metal clay work.  I simply love working with the metal clays – bronze and silver.  Molding the clay then firing the dried pieces has been very therapeutic for me - kiln watching allows me to write.  At least 9 custom pieces I have worked with the metal clay in the past couple of months – all Ancient Egyptian symbols.  Then on to weaving them into lovely bracelets, necklaces and one soon to be anklet with magical gemstones. 

The amulet gifts have not only been my way of helping and giving back but selfishly allows me to work with more gemstones.  I personally feel they all have individual personalities and meeting new stones – rocks – crystals is an honor.  It seems lately friends, friends of friends or fellow followers of the Goddess have need of the assistance that comes from Geb (Ancient Egyptian Earth God) so easily, so powerfully and so abundantly. 

Seems most amulet gifts lately are dealing with protection from unsavory people who know just enough energy working to willfully work icky “magic” on others.  Unfortunately they seem to know enough to be dangerous and possess enough hubris to not care about karma.  However some lovely amulets were woven together – made to be attached to a key-ring, belt loop, zipper pull or necklace.  A few were created for a healthy approach to food with an emphasis on staying positive and having good energy.

I have 2 more customer order to finish this weekend and one new order to start.  Sometimes I wish I could do this full time - but seems my creativity lags when I am home all day to just create – with stones or my writing.  A few more amulets to make too.  And a special request to turn a set of meditation beads into a bracelet that can be worn when it can't be carried in a pocket.  

Serene Highness - Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli the exquisite gemstone from earliest times  - it stirs our ancient memories conjuring images  of ancient Egyptian temples, lingering incense and the flowing Nile   Lapis Lazuli  - the very name sounds exotic, revealing from our collective memories  beauteous deities, hallowed royalty and monuments that defy time and the elements.  Lapis Lazuli mined for over 6000 years and used extensively in Ancient Egypt and Sumer.  Ancient Egyptian civilization used Lapis in amulets, funerary preparations, decorating deity statues and to adorn the jewelry of royalty.

Lapis Lazuli, showcasing the hallmark blue of sodalite shot through with the gold sheen of  pyrite combines with lazurite, hauyne and calcite making this one of the most beautifully recognizable stones from antiquity.  Lapis is the very epitome of serene highness, expanding our spiritual and physical selves, allowing us to rise to meet its holy vibration.  In that sacred space/time Lapis  imparts ancient wisdom and knowledge, assisting us to shed the past with clarity, objectivity and peace while protecting us from negativity and psychic attack.



Lapis the most beautiful sacred of gemstones, just handling and wearing these exotic stones brings out my ancient goddess.

Spirit of Ancient Egypt

Working four custom orders for Ancient Egyptian Jewelry over the weekend.  Three Ancient Egyptian Eye of Horus bracelets made with the bronze metal clay - hand-cast and fired in my kiln.  Two of these Eyes of Horus are to be made into bracelets for a stunning Egyptian Priestess.  The gemstones for the first bracelet is made with Green Jasper - deep green like the primitive jungles where our spirits first communed with nature.  The other bracelet is  Brown and Red Tiger Eye so reminiscent of the desert where the sun of Ancient Egypt feeds our KA with celestial energy.

The third Eye of Horus pendant is to be made into an anklet  made with Lapis.  Lapis the gemstones of the Gods, gifting us ancient knowledge and awareness.  My first anklet and I am so looking forward to making it.  The last custom piece is a beautiful bronze Ancient Egyptian Khepra Cartouche.  This beautiful cartouche will be made into a gorgeous necklace  - the client and I have not decided on the gemstones.  Still basking in the beauty of this new custom cartouche - it came out perfect the first time.

Dark Khepra - Ancient Egyptian Cartouche of Transformation

My custom order over the weekend was creating a necklace that combined the glory of the sun,  the joy of spiritual revolution with the very real boundaries of attaining transformation through staying connected and protected while remaining calm during this  highly visual direct process of change.  Dark Khepra  the Ancient Egyptian Cartouche of Transformation was birthed.

Khepra the Ancient Egyptian Sun God of rebirth and transformation  whose name means "He who is Coming into Being" is symbolized by the scarab. Khepra also represents the dawning sun when in conjunction with RA.  The dawning sun heralds a new day-every day; thus a new beginning and fresh opportunity for transformation.  The imagery alone associated just with the fresh born morning  sun is enough to inspire this artist to realize every day has unlimited potential for change.  The Ancient Egyptians truly saw the scarab  as a symbol of change, life from death as as the young scarabs emerge from the dead or from dung balls.  This further impresses on us the fact that even in death their is hope, change and opportunity and from that which we think is unusable as in dung can come forth life - life that takes flight to live a new day in the sun.

I chose the name Dark Khepra for many reasons, the sun shines forth always even at night and in our darkest moments before light strikes us.  The chick pecks the shells seeking emergence into the light as does the butterfly struggling to cast off the funerary wrappings of its former life to take wing into the solar bliss of its new life.  As the old saying goes its always darkest before thee storm - darkest before the storm of change that lets the light come streaming through.

I used several dark gemstones too for this necklace.  Dark colors always embody the hidden, the subconscious and what lies beneath us all.  Darkness and black is so representative of the blank slate we all are waiting to written on with the light chalk of change.Black Magnestite, Black Tourmaline, Hematite and Lava came together naturally.  Such vibrancy for deep dark colored stones - to me all of these stones stir below the surface - feeding change and propelling transformation.

Solar Divinity the Tiger Eye

I recently received several orders for metal clay Eyes of Horus/Ra with Tiger Eye.  I made my first one for a very wonderful Egyptian Priestess.  I so fell in love with this piece myself it was like tearing out my heart to send to her. So beautiful, uplifting and positive feeling - definite energies of RA or Horus.

Such a lovely piece using bronze metal clay, bronze beads and the positive, solar Tiger Eye.  A definite stone of courage and warmth.  It is fantastic for increasing your will power.  I find this wonderful stone promotes my personal power, definitely boosts my confidence and gives me a shield against negativity and dark magic. Ancient Roman soldiers wore pieces of Tiger Eye engraved for luck in battle.


This is such a powerful bracelet along with the Bronze beads the Bronze focal - The Eye of Ra/Horus radiates such positive power.  So many descriptions, ideas, feelings come to mind that evoke the very feeling this wonderful Eye and awesome gemstone energy encompasses being  - RA, Horus, the Sun, solar energies, divinity, royalty, Kemet {Ancient Egypt} hawk, falcon, warrior, destruction, salvation, shield, protection, benevolence, masculine energy, reason and math. I could go on and on but you get the picture.

The Egyptian Eye of Ra  - Ra is the Great Hawk and creator of all, he is associated with the sun at its many phases. The Eye of Ra symbolizes the sun's fiery destructive power.  In various mythologies Ra sends his Eye to destroy humans who had fallen into wickedness. 

As the Eye of Horus; the Eye symbolizes all seeing, all nourishing and protection.  Horus is the celestial falcon who has flown to the ends of the universe, he is associated with the Pharaoh and seat of power on earth, called Horus of the Two Horizons - again with solar inference.  The Eye of Horus also represented when broken into pieces the idea of fractions - it served not only a finite purpose but a symbolic one of being deconstructed to form a whole.  A powerful amulet used by Ancient Egyptians and by many today for its protection and healing properties.

Looking forward to making several more of these in the bronze clay medium with different gemstones - especially the different gemstones that resonate with Ancient Egypt.  Of course I love all gemstones and truly they all have such amazing energies which  I call their focus - the abilities they bring to the table that can assist us with our personal workings.  Along with having wonderful individual personalities it is truly a blessing to work with gemstones and weave them into beautiful creations that assists others to achieve their dreams.

Communion with the Divine

For years and years I have loved, worked with and reeled in the joy of the earths mineral children - gemstones.  I have made my own jewelry from gemstones and semi-precious gemstones for well over 20 years.  I have collected rocks it seems all my life. Fascinated with the textures, enthralled with the colors and definitely enchanted with the energies.

 
For I truly believe we touch the Divine when we hold a stone - be it igneous revealed after eons of erosion, sedimentary found in hidden ravines or peerless high end gems harvested from deep in the earth - there really are no common stones.  All tell a story, all have personalities and most definitely all have energies that let us sample a piece of the Divine.  These simple divine tools work with us to achieve our goals - both earthly and spiritual.

I have also in an effort to better commune with the Divine, be in harmony with my deities, hear my spirit guides, recognize my higher self, focus my intentions, align my goals, gain protection and manifest needs I have designed and created meditation beads, amulets, talismans and pendulums from these precious jewels from the earth, weaving these jeweled tools for well over 20 years also.  I have created several sets of mediation beads, and a couple of pendulums - some for those in need as gifts and a couple for those interested in focusing on a specific task or communing with spirit or higher self at the end of 2011.

Loving these stones and my creations from them like children I have birthed has brought tremendous satisfaction to me personally, spiritually and emotionally.  I am hopeful of spreading that love to others this 2012.  For most truly gemstones touch the face of the Divine.  We need no specific laying on of a spell - we simply clean, bless and meld our intent to these treasure from Geb {Egyptian God of the Earth}.  When we stop and listen we find they sing to our hearts, gladly bonding our intent to their focus thus bringing our goal closer  - cleaner and more sacred.