Amber and Jet

I have recently started to work with amber and jet (although work is a big word: I wear a necklace, earrings and bracelet, think about them, admire them a lot and try and hear what they they have to say, as much as these two can speak. It beats real work )

I remember reading on this forum that amber and jet together made a "witch's protection" - I think it was Sharpchick who mentioned that. Neither of them are stones at all - amber is fossilised resin - it sometimes has insects trapped in it, hundreds of thousands of years old - and jet is fossilised wood. So they are somewhere between the organic and the mineral kingdom (and the animal, if you take the insects, though I don't have any of that sort of amber - beyond my price range!). Jet is said to protect and manifest, and was always used as a talisman. It's said to stabilise finances, and moods. Amber is, of course, linked to Freya, who slept with an entire household of dwarves for her famous amber and gold necklace. Nothing like dedication to one's jewellery, I say . Its associations are very sunny - in keeping with its golden colour - the Crystal Bible says it transmutes negative energies in the body into positive, brings more energy, helps to motivate and to link one's goals with the drive to achieve them (it certainly had that effect on Freya!), encourages decision-making and finding one's direction, and promotes a sunny disposition (can you tell?). All good, yay! I can see how these two work together - but for far more than protection. Amber to help find one's way cheerfully, jet to protect that path and smooth finances and moods on the way...

At any rate, I feel light-hearted, calm, sunny and I've not been spending recklessly, so... . Oh - and I am setting a course for myself I feel happy with, which after a long time of feeling some roads had been closed to me, is a good change.

I love it that my set has bees on it, because Bee is a special guide/ power animal for me. She has always been my directions/decisions power animal. It was so appropriate. But strangely, I've worn the set very little until recently. Until I did a little burning ritual a couple of days ago, getting rid of old negative contracts, I wasn't ready. I was in suspension. Now I am - and how!


What is your experience with these two, together or apart. Doesn't have to be metaphysical - I'm interested in all your stories.

I got some beads and made myself an amber and jet bracelet.
It's nice.
The colours look good together.

Also I have found Jet on a beach up Whitby way.

Good stuff, Whitby Jet.

I keep meaning to carve it into something.

And I have an amber sphere on a necklace. That has things in it, like seeds or something.

I like it, but I don't know what to say about it.

Jet is damn expensive.

Jet is expensive! So you were lucky to find some. Maybe you can help it make babies... The Crystal Bible says you can put it in your purse or your finances corner. I don't know where the finances corner is, but a little jet bead would slip easily in a purse.

Given the quality of your work, Lillie, I can only imagine your bracelet looks gorgeous. I hope you carve something in that Whitby Jet (and Whitby, especially - that's almost too perfect!). Any idea what you'd like to carve? A bat?

The bracelet is nothing more than round jet beads interspersed with amber chips on a bit of elastic...

No artistic ability needed.

I got that Jet from abroad. It cost me more than I expected because I got stung from customs....

Whitby is the only place in Britain where it's found, so yeah, we were lucky to find some, it had been brought up by a storm and the tide was out...

I was thinking of carving something very simple, especially as these are all quite small pieces.
I was thinking of a scarab, make a little oval dome and carve the shape into the back.
Simple enough for a non carver to try!

Forever Amber

I have always been drawn to amber. I purchased an amber necklace in Riga many years ago that was the only piece of jewelry not stolen from me in a home burglary some years ago (silly thieves didn't know its value). A few years ago my husband brought me an elaborate amber choker with light and dark beads that he had found in Moscow, and that comprises my amber collection.

I find that the choker in particular gives me a feeling that my throat chakra is protected, particularly when I need to speak hard truths. I am also somewhat prone to laryngitis when I catch cold, and my highly subjective impression is that wearing the amber has lessened that tendency. Even if this is a placebo effect, what works, works.

I had never heard anything about amber and jet working together. I might qualify as a witch under some definitions, so perhaps I should find a jet bead or two to work into my choker.

M_M~

I should have said that over many years and from many places I have heard that Amber and Jet together are witches stones and provide protection.

They were used together in the british stoneage.
They are found as grave goods.

Lillie said:

I was thinking of a scarab, make a little oval dome and carve the shape into the back.

Click to expand...

I believe that jet would make a perfect medium for a representation of Keph-Ra (scarab) - blackness, protection, midnight, the underworld, grave goods ... yeah.

Anybody has any idea how to cleanse amber and jet?

Both amber and jet were quite popular stones/fossil to have as jewelry pieces during the Victorian age. Jet was the most popular stone used during mourning periods and almost the only jewelry that would be acceptable to wear during that time. Jet beaded purses and shawls were also popular. Amber was desired for its beauty and warm glow. Interesting how you have the black and orange/yellow colours-Halloween! My mother almost named me Amber because I have amber eyes. The pieces that have insects stuck in the amber (sap that drips from trees, catching insects and bark, etc. and then fossilizing) were preferred and those with spiders trapped inside were considered especially powerful.

Amber is porous so I would be very careful in any cleaning, unless it is highly polish and even then. Just lukewarm or cool, but not cold, water. Not sure about jet. But some types of jet are more fragile than others.

You might enjoy this article, too.

http://www.ladybridget.com/w/amberjet.html

Jet beaded purses, yes! My great-grandmother had one of those, I hear. Very elegant. In the 1920s, my nana received from her father a jet-beaded dress from Paris, edged in black feathers! To this day, I wish she had kept it. What a prize, eh?

Thank you for the cleaning advice, HC, and for the link.

I have this fantasy of owning a piece of amber with a bee inside it, one of my power animals.