SG-Crystals, Gems: Lapis Lazuli

[cjtarot]

Hi all,

Have to leave for a few weeks so I thought this might me one to think about (as usual, my info comes from Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem and metal Magic by Scott Cunningham)

Lapis Lazuli:

Energy: Receptive
Planet: Venus
Element: Water
Deities: Isis, Venus and Nuit (ohh a ladies stone..lol)
Associated Metal: Gold
Power: Healing, Joy, Love, Fidelity, Psychism, Protection, Courage

Magical/Ritual Lore:

Lapis Lazuli has timeless associations with kings and queens. In ancient Sumer the stone the stone was closely associated with the dieties in general. Carrying it, its possessor bore the potent magical power of a diety, for the stone contained the force behind all divinity. Some said the stone contained the soul of the deity, who would "rejoice in its owner".

Magical Use:

Lapis Lazuli is a rather expensive stone, it healing and it soothing. Simply touching the body with his stone improves your mental, physical spiritual psychic and emotional condition.

It is used to specifaccly to alleviate fevers and desiese of the blood. Lapis lazuli strengthens eyesight of habitually worn. Held in the hand during healing rituals, or placed around blue or purple candles, the stone helps to magician focus energy towards the magical outcome.

There is more in the book. Take a look and then let us know if you have any info on this beauty.

Blessings,

Cj

[jema]

Lapis Lazuli was used to make a blue colour in the past. they would grind it down into a powder and mix with a medium.
it is said that they used this stone to dye the clothes of the royals in the old days.
(one can imagine it was very expensive)
clear red and blue clothes were very rare in the past since the only way to achieve them was so expensive.

[napaea]

i don't have more information than what was shared, because I forget what vibrational level it is.

but i love lapis a lot. this stone is so beautiful, and since it is connected to Isis, it is one of my faves.

[jema]

i too love lapis lazuli.

if i ever got a fortune i would make a mosaic in my bathroom in moonstone and lapis lazuli.
my card for today was Aeon from Thoth!
with the lady Nuit stretching the heavens...

my stone is just a little sliver shaped like a stave. but i keep it right here by the computer in a bowl with other stones i want to be close right now.

[catlin]

I also love Lapis Lazuli a lot. Ancient Egyptians not only used it for dying clothes but also as an eyeshadow (like Malachite). It was and still is often imitated, eg by Sodalithe.

Another virtue of Lapis Lazuli is that it helps when you suffer from back aches or strains in your neck and shoulders.

[Kyrielle]

I've heard that this stone won't be available (at least in the US) for a while because a lot of it is mined in the Afghanistan area. So any stones that are here now are it for a time.

-- Kyrielle

[the hermit]

Originally posted by Kyrielle
I've heard that this stone won't be available (at least in the US) for a while because a lot of it is mined in the Afghanistan area. So any stones that are here now are it for a time.

-- Kyrielle

You're right, the majority does come from Afghanistan. Smaller finds from Siberia and Chile will probably be coming in, but they're not as fine as the Afghan stones.

The scientific name is Lazurite with the Lapis Lazuli name generally applied to finished and polished decorative and jewelry stones.

Many Lapis Lazuli stones have been found carved into the image of the Egyptian hippopotamus-goddess Toeris.

It is these stones that the ancients called "sapphires" the gems of Venus. It was believed to be a cure for melancholy and helped with firmness, stability and preservation. They also believed it was representative of the blue sky of heaven and thus wearing it would counteract the wiles of spirits of darkness, while procurring the aid and favor of the spirits of light and wisdom.

As well as being used by the ancients as a dye, the ground powder from this stone is what the old painting masters used to make "ultramarine".

[Starfish]

I love Lapis! In fact, I've recently purchased a necklace (I'm waiting for it to get it - impatiently waiting ;)) that i've had my eye on for some time.

I've really enjoyed reading this thread. I'm learning so much in this group study.

(I'm going to try and attach a photo).

:THERM Starfish

[catlin]

Wow, Starfish, where did you find this beauty?! Pleeease let me know!

[Starfish]

Originally posted by catlin
Wow, Starfish, where did you find this beauty?! Pleeease let me know!

Actually, on eBay! But I have emailed the seller to find out where another one can be purchased. I will PM you any details they pass on to me.

I can't wait to receive it! Now, to pick out a lovely silver chain to wear it on ;)

Blessings -

:T10C Starfish

[zorya]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by the hermit
[B]


The scientific name is Lazurite with the Lapis Lazuli name generally applied to finished and polished decorative and jewelry stones.
_________________________________________________


i had thought that lazurite was one of the minerals (the blue part) in lapis lazuli, along with pyrite and i believe calcite ( but i may be wrong there). so you can actually have a lazurite that is not lapis lazuli. there is another blue stone often confused with the two called lazulite, but is not the same.

[the hermit]

Originally posted by zorya
[QUOTE]Originally posted by the hermit
[B]


The scientific name is Lazurite with the Lapis Lazuli name generally applied to finished and polished decorative and jewelry stones.
_________________________________________________


i had thought that lazurite was one of the minerals (the blue part) in lapis lazuli, along with pyrite and i believe calcite ( but i may be wrong there). so you can actually have a lazurite that is not lapis lazuli. there is another blue stone often confused with the two called lazulite, but is not the same.
Lazurite is the accepted scientific name for a blue, violet-blue, or greenish-blue sodium aluminum silicate mineral of metamorphosed limestones that is often associated with pyrite and/or calcite deposits.

Lapis Lazuli is the commercial name for finished, polished lazurite. If you find the name lapis lazuli in a rock and mineral guide at all, it will refer you to lazurite.

You can have an unpolished, raw piece of lazurite with or without pyrite or calcite imbedded particles that a few will call lapis lazuli. But if you polish it, especially if you make jewelry out of it, then the jeweler and other commercial sales folk will almost always call it lapis lazuli.

Thus you can have a lazurite that isn't lapis lazuli, but you can't have a lapis lazuli that isn't lazurite.

There are actually two other blue minerals sometimes confused with lazurite. They are sodalite and lazulite.

[Starfish]

Does anyone here use it specifically for meditative or magickal purposes?

:TJUDG Starfish

[the hermit]

Originally posted by Starfish
Does anyone here use it specifically for meditative or magickal purposes?

:TJUDG Starfish
Yes to both.
I have a silver chain and basket that will hold a small stone and thus form a pendant. I place different stones within the basket as desired and have used it to hold my lapis stone. I suspend it like one would a pendulum, but without allowing it to swing. Held thus I have used it for meditation and also as a focus for healing spells.

Scott Cunningham's "Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic" has some suggestions for both uses as does Melody's "Love Is In The Earth".

[Starfish]

Originally posted by the hermit
I have a silver chain and basket that will hold a small stone and thus form a pendant. I place different stones within the basket as desired and have used it to hold my lapis stone. I suspend it like one would a pendulum, but without allowing it to swing. Held thus I have used it for meditation and also as a focus for healing spells.

Scott Cunningham's "Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic" has some suggestions for both uses as does Melody's "Love Is In The Earth".

I need to find Melody's book (I have Scott's and LOVE it).

Now, my dear, druidic sage proud grandfather hermit (phew! what a title), where did you get the chain/basket you mention? This sounds like some I HAVE to get.

Blessings -

:TJUDG Starfish

[the hermit]

Originally posted by Starfish


I need to find Melody's book (I have Scott's and LOVE it).

Now, my dear, druidic sage proud grandfather hermit (phew! what a title), where did you get the chain/basket you mention? This sounds like some I HAVE to get.

Blessings -

:TJUDG Starfish
I traded it for 3 tarot readings (the silversmith, his wife and her sister) years ago at the Ren Faire in the Black Forest near Novato, CA (now no longer running, I'm sad to say... the forest has been replaced by a golf course and development :().
But I've seen similar in various metaphysical shops, usually with a stone already in it. The one I have is like a little set of fingers with a collar that moves up and down. Collar up, fingers open to release or accept stone... collar down, locks fingers to hold stone.

About Melody's book... It's very good, very big, and has no illustrations or photos, which makes it difficult to use if you don't have gem experience. I understand that there is a pictorial guide (possibly even 2) that go with it, but I haven't seen it. My own experience and the many guides I already have keep this from being a problem for me, but I have heard many others complain about it.

[Strega]

Originally posted by Starfish
Does anyone here use it specifically for meditative or magickal purposes?Yes. I do. :)

Lapis lazuli's calming and soothing energies can help one enter the meditative state more easily. It can also be used in astral projection and dream work.

Also said to help one achieve spiritual enlightenment and clear negative karmic patterns. :)

[Starfish]

Originally posted by Strega
Yes. I do. :)

Lapis lazuli's calming and soothing energies can help one enter the meditative state more easily. It can also be used in astral projection and dream work.

Since receiving my lapis necklace, I HAVE noticed that I definitely feel calmer when I'm wearing it. I will make sure to have it on the next time I meditate. Thanks, Strega!

:TCHAR Starfish

[DarkElectric]

I wear my Lapis necklace for clarity. It interacts very well with my personal fields, and I find that I am able to see things from a much more uncluttered perspective when I wear it. As I have an occaisional problem being overwhelmed by too much information, I welcome this.

[jade]

oh now this is my stone! has been for as long as i have been on this path. this stone speaks to me in ways that no other does. i would love to get a big scrying ball of this :D but it would cost me a small fortune :(

i get flowing fluidity........gentle calming movement and great depth when i hold or look into this stone. i find it has great healing powers as well.

jade

[osami2717]

My boyfriend gave me a silver necklace last November, with an anhk with a Lapis Lazuli at the center clasped in a pair of hands.

Does this have any special significance...?
He said he saw it and knew he had to get it for me. [no special reason or occasion]

I don't know much about stones yet...am still learning.
All I DO know is that I don't take it off. Once it got caught on a shirt button and I pulled it over my head without realizing it and I felt VERY naked without it around my neck.
I'm more careful now.
:D

[Pollux]

- Mohs Hardness: 5-6
- Treatment: None;polished with paraffin wax
- Color: Royal blue to Denim blue (Denim Lapis Lazuli)

Found in Afghanistan, Argentina, Russia (Lake Baikal), Angola, Pakistan, Chile, Canada and the USA (California and Colorado)

Healing PROPERTIES: Keeps father safe. Attracts good fortune. Brings inner peace, tranquility, happiness. Heightens concentration, clarity and instincts. Promotes success in love matters. Encourages cheerfulness, self-confidence. Enhances psychic vision. Proficient in healing. Good for meditation. Bestows greater awareness of inner self. Provides sense of general well-being. Brings illumination. Advocates creative expression. Helps in judicial matters. Influences cosmic consciousness. Assists during time of mourning. Releases tension, anxiety. Aids sleep. Symbolizes the warmth and lasting presence of the Sun. Activates thyroid gland. Benefits blood circulation, childbirth, digestion and feminine discomfort.

Energy: Magnetic
Element: Water
Planet/Sign: Moon/Cancer; Mercury/Gemini; Saturn-Uranus/Aquarius

Vibrates to the number 3.

=================================

I recently got a new pendant. Silver. Caduceus. With a Lapis on the pole. It is perfect for me - just me. Maybe a bit big, but exactly the deep blue-like me. Let's say the inner twin... ;)

Perfect. Thank you. :*

I have not worn it yet, I wanted to save it for a special occasion - that is coming VERY SOON, so tomorrow I must not forget to charge - it with salt possibly.
I have no idea about its effects on me. I'll be prepared to anything. But it surely will be positive.

Now, since I have to clean and charge it, I need help!!! Can you suggest a way to CLEANSE and CHARGE this stone? I already ruled out water. I will also check the Net, but I would love some help from my knowledgeable Aeclecticans fellows...

Thanks

[DarkElectric]

Pollux!
Cleanse it in salt, preferrably rock salt, and here's a tip I learned ... Put the dish with the salt on top of the back tank of your toilet. (No joke) Every time you flush, the water flushing out of the tank pulls the neggie out of both the crystal and the saltbath. Then, after you've cleansed the crystal, charge it up by holding it your hands, and putting whatever you need into it in this manner. Did this help or are you confused more?

[Pollux]

I was not confused... I was more doubtful.
I don't want to damage the stone, that's why I asked for some specific ways related to Lapis.
I know water MUST BE AVOIDED, for example, and since my net-search brought to almost nothing, I wondered if there were others prescriptions.

I like your trick! Probably it can be used with any stone...
Unfortunately I don't have back-tanks, but the ones hanging above ther bowl... *LOL* :(

[the hermit]

if you use salt with Lapis (or any other porous stone or crystal)...
please be careful about burying it in salt. If the stone is not "sealed" with resin it may damage it as lapis is very porous (which is why "washing" in any liquid is not good).
Put the lapis on top of salt.
I only bury very hard rocks, crystals and gems in salt.

Another method of cleasing is to put a smoky quartz crystal on top of or right next to stone in a sun lit window... smoky quartz is said to purify and will draw out any negative energy with the sun helping the process along.

Yet another is to just set the stone in a sun lit window.
Sun light is felt by many to be the best purifier of many rocks, gems and crystals.

A third method with any rock or crystal is to bury it in the ground.
I prefer burial beneath a tree, especially a fruit tree.
I wrap the stone in cloth, then burlap to protect it physically.
I place it beneath my apple tree on the south facing side as near the roots as I can.
Generally I leave it at least 24 to 48 hours. Sunset to sunset OR midnight to midnight are the 2 time frames I use.

[Pollux]

Hermit you rock!!!
Thanks for the great suggestions!

Now I was wondering, why don't we start a thead about things NOT TO DO to avoid damage to stones?
I knwo this could be incluided in each single stone-focused thread, but since the prescriptions are often the same, wouldn't it be easier?
Things to do and not to do when purifying, cleansing, charging, wearing, using with other magickal tools...

[blue_fusion]

hi. do any of you guys know about lapis linguis? i know its somehow related to lapis lazuli, but even a more powerful psychic conduit.

[the hermit]

Originally posted by blue_fusion20
hi. do any of you guys know about lapis linguis? i know its somehow related to lapis lazuli, but even a more powerful psychic conduit.

It's a folk name for Azurite that was popularized by Edgar Cayce in his prophetic books.

Cunningham mentions it in his book.
Another folk name is lapis lingua.

It is, indeed, thought by many to be a powerful psychic tool for divination as well as healing and dreams. It's considered a receptive stone that has a deep blue color.

[blue_fusion]

hi. thanks for the info. where can one usually buy these stones (azurite)? and how much are they priced?

i saw one in a stall in a mall here, it was about the size of a silver dollar, round and all. but that time, i didn't have the money to buy it, so i passed on the opportunity. when i came back to it, the store was not there anymore. :)

Originally posted by the hermit


It's a folk name for Azurite that was popularized by Edgar Cayce in his prophetic books.

Cunningham mentions it in his book.
Another folk name is lapis lingua.

It is, indeed, thought by many to be a powerful psychic tool for divination as well as healing and dreams. It's considered a receptive stone that has a deep blue color.

[the hermit]

Originally posted by blue_fusion20
hi. thanks for the info. where can one usually buy these stones (azurite)? and how much are they priced?

Check out this thread--
buying online (http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6063)
it has several reputable online rock & gem dealers.
I don't know if they specifically have azurite, but they all carry a wide variety of rocks and crystals.

The best place for purchasing any stone tends to be an old-fashioned local rock shop. If you can find one I'd look there first. Almost all of my purchased specimens come from that type of shop rather than a metaphysical/occult/new age where stones always seem at bit expensive.

Of course the other way to obtain some great specimens is to find them yourself. I'm lucky enough to live in california where there are a multitude of great gathering sites. To find site locations you can look up the local rock and gem club or if you're lucky the "Gem Trails" series of books covers you local region. It's a series of books that list local hot spots for gathering various rock and crystal specimens covering various states and regions in the u.s. of a.

[blue_fusion]

thanks hermit. actually, i was planning to ask my aunt to buy me one, if it's not that expensive. and, coincidentally, she lives in california (LA). could you recommend any shop near or in the area? i would so much appreciate this. :)

Originally posted by the hermit

Check out this thread--
buying online (http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6063)
it has several reputable online rock & gem dealers.
I don't know if they specifically have azurite, but they all carry a wide variety of rocks and crystals.

The best place for purchasing any stone tends to be an old-fashioned local rock shop. If you can find one I'd look there first. Almost all of my purchased specimens come from that type of shop rather than a metaphysical/occult/new age where stones always seem at bit expensive.

Of course the other way to obtain some great specimens is to find them yourself. I'm lucky enough to live in california where there are a multitude of great gathering sites. To find site locations you can look up the local rock and gem club or if you're lucky the "Gem Trails" series of books covers you local region. It's a series of books that list local hot spots for gathering various rock and crystal specimens covering various states and regions in the u.s. of a.

[the hermit]

Originally posted by blue_fusion20
thanks hermit. actually, i was planning to ask my aunt to buy me one, if it's not that expensive. and, coincidentally, she lives in california (LA). could you recommend any shop near or in the area? i would so much appreciate this. :)


the only one i know down there is further south in san diego...
South American Imports (http://www.saimport.com/index.htm)
they have a retail shop as well as online.

But I'm sure that los angeles has some rock shops.

[evangelion]

Wow! So much information! I never knew that much about Lapis, until now!

I seems like it's a stone that just calls to some people. Kind of an interesting story: I've always been attracted to the stone since I saw a beautiful Lapis orb in a rock/gem shop in Park City, Utah along with all kinds of cool handmade trinkets. I'd always wanted to go back and get something from them but I just didnt have opportunity. Then, on Christmas that same year, my grandma, who lives in Germany, sent me for a present a little tiny jewelry box kind of thingy stuffed with all kinds of stones and crystals, and at the very bottom there was this Lapis scarab! I couldnt believe it, I'd told nobody how badly I wanted something like this (I've always had a fascination with Egyptian stuff too.). Somehow it was just meant to be! I love that scarab and I hold it very dear to me, especially because my grandma has passed on. But now it holds even more value!

Thanks everyone for the info!

[coldsuns]

Thats my fav crystal! It is so blue! I like it alot and give me a very warming and comfortable feeling.