(no, not the movie, though it is delightful…)

Can we get one thing straight? There isn’t one. A charm that will ensure easy life, I  mean.

If life were always easy, we’d never appreciate it. At least not enough.

No, what I’m thinking of are those things that make us feel better, that put our minds at ease, that give us a focal point for our tension so we do not direct it at others.

3 Cars, 3 Crystals

I got my first car the month I turned 22. It was out of necessity–my husband at the time had asked for a divorce on Easter Sunday and I was going to need a car to get around in as we’d been sharing his. It was a gently used 97 Geo Prism, dark blue, and it was my freedom.

Over the next 7 years she and I would be involved in just as many accidents (only one of which, for the record, was my fault–the rest was just unfortunate luck, a fact my insurance company will back up). My friends dubbed her Cher from the amount of body work she’d had done. The last incident, after I’d duly paid off the note and had survived my second failed marriage, was what did her in. A 17-year-old ran a stop sign coming up a slight hill and spun Cher and I around in the intersection. She was totaled.

Next came Phoebe, a 3-year old Saturn Ion that had been a lease before me. Not one month after signing the papers a college student decided to make a left out of an apartment complex, ignoring the 2 lanes of oncoming traffic he’d have to cross before reaching the safety of the median, and I was unable to avoid him. I joked that they were only supposed to transfer the tag, not the hit me sign, too!

All jokes aside, I decided it was to be a bit creative. Defensive driving can only get you so far.

Phoebe only lasted a year before her computer systems started acting up. After 4 repairs in as many weeks, Electra entered my life (so named because she had a nasty habit of shocking me every time I’d get out of the car for several months). Electra was a brand new, 16-miles-on-her-including-my-test-drive, Saturn Ion 2, and the first thing I transferred to her was the amulet I’d made after Phoebe’s first (and last!) accident.

After 4 1/2 years with no accidents, I’d say the jade, quartz and amethyst crystals are doing their job!

Animism, Energy or Something Else?

Natural stones and crystals derive, some believe, a certain amount of power and influence as they are formed from and within the earth.

To me, it brings into play the Thermodynamic Laws (named the first one which says energy is neither created nor destroyed, it merely changes form). Stones, in this way, are merely potential [metaphysical] energy waiting to be utilized. The hows and whys are more mental or emotional as opposed to chemical. (Though, it should be noted, light-workers probably consider stones as having kinetic energy.)

Whether this counts for animism is up for debate–animism considers everything has a soul… but you believe souls *are* energy, well, then, let’s call it that, too!

At any rate, if you choose to use crystals for anything besides their shiny, pretty properties, you’ll want to know a few things about them.

My Travel Buddies

My travel amulet consists of a piece each of jade, quartz and amethyst.

• Quartz is a universal stone–it’s good at everything! Kinda like salt in cooking, it amplifies and enhances whatever you want it to. It’s incredibly versatile as a facilitator.
• Jade is, among other things, great for protection. In the case of travel it prevents accidents. As a side note, the little elephant figure happened to be what I had around at the time but it was even more fortuitous–Ganesha* is the Hindu god known as the Remover of Obstacles–how’s that for defensive driving!
• Amethyst is a calming stone. In this case it’s a defense against road rage.

Now, I know a lot of folks consider this a whole lot of woo-woo New Age hooey. And that’s fine. It’s not for them. But after being rear-ended twice, having this little bag to concentrate on helps relax me when I’m stopped in traffic and the person coming up fast behind me makes me think back to that trapped feeling just before impact. I take it with me when I fly as something to hold and concentrate on during take-offs and landings and it gives me something to do instead of worry. And I haven’t been in an accident since I started keeping it in the car. It’s enough for me.

To find out more about a particular stone you’re drawn to or interested in, check out the lists over at Crystal Energy Works or Emily Gems, they seem fairly complete. And if you want to learn how to make a little gauzy pouch for your own crystals or other uses, check out my new tutorial, Drawstring Pouch with French Seams, through the Projects tab.

*Ganesha is generally depicted as a man with an elephant’s head, sometimes riding a mouse. I didn’t know this until after I picked my little jade elephant dude, but I still the the synchronicity is nice.