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 It seems like lots of people get spring colds. I know I’m in the process of fighting one off, my daughter just got over one, and two of my friends have one. (Thanks to Margaret Shulock of Six Chix for use of her wonderful cartoon. Check her site to read about her cold and see more of her work and the five other Chix.) It’s not surprising. At the end of winter, particularly winters as long and cold as the 2008-09 winter was, at least in the northeast, we’re really eager for the warmth of spring days. It doesn’t take much sunshine to draw us outdoors, and after months of temperatures never rising above freezing, 45 degrees seems warm and 50 like a heat wave, so coats & hats often come off before they should.
Now I know that many medical professionals will tell me that my mother wasn’t necessarily right, that I can’t GET a cold from BEING cold, but somehow that doesn’t feel true. I can’t get over many of the things mom taught me. Anyway, it certainly is true that the easiest way to get a cold is from someone who already has one. They cough or sneeze and those airborne germs fly through the air to us. Or, even easier, we shake hands with the person with the cold, or touch the doorknob they just turned, and then touch our faces – eyes, nose, mouth – giving the germs an easy entry into our systems.
In the end, it doesn’t matter how you got the cold, once you’ve got it, you’re sick. You’re coughing, sneezing, and blowing your nose till its pink and raw. Breathing through your mouth is likely to result in chapped lips, a sore throat, and disturbed sleep. If you’re like me, you’re doing lots of things to minimize the cold’s impact on your life; things your mother told you, things your doctor told you, things you heard from your friends. So I’ll drink hot lemon & honey, slather my neck and chest with a menthol vapor rub (both from mom), take zinc, extra Echinacea, and munch raw garlic (friends), get plenty of rest and drink extra fluids (doctor). All those things are commonly known and help.
But gemstones? Can gemstones help you get over your cold? I think they can.
What are your symptoms?
 Gems for a cold Bronchitis? Try red jasper, amethyst, and black onyx to heal this infection.
Common cold? Get some fluorite or red coral. Or if you’re lucky enough to have any of these three lovely gems, use yellow topaz, jet, or emeralds.
Watery eyes? Aquamarine and onyx may offer some relief.
Swollen glands? Blue lace agate, topaz, and aquamarine are the gems to try.
Sore throat? Carry amber, blue lace agate, or aquamarine to speed healing.
I’m not suggesting that you stuff your pockets with all of the named gems. That would make your needed naps much less comfortable. Instead, think about what’s your classically weak area, and get some gemstones that are noted for healing that area. If you can strengthen your lungs, or your ears, or whatever, it will be easier for your immune system to step up to the plate for the rest of you. As always, don’t use gemstones in place of other healing remedies, use them to augment your other health care methods.
Contact me and I’ll be happy to work with you and create a talisman just for you. Unfortunately, this isn’t a quick process, and your current cold may be over by the time we’re done, but then you’ll have it for the next time those germs try to move in!
It’s not as if you need the talking heads to tell you that we’re in economic trouble, you live with it every day. Even if your personal finances or your retirement income seem stable now, you worry about how long that will last. If you’re among the millions of people in the United States and around the world who’ve been hit hard, you’re struggling to maintain your home and buy the groceries.
Can gemstones help you through difficult financial times? If you choose wisely, the answer is yes.
It all starts with knowing what you’re looking for. I’m not in any position to offer any advice to those who have money to buy diamonds or other precious gems as investments; that’s way out of my league.
But I can offer help to those of you who, like me, are struggling and worried.
 Gemstones to bring prosperity Let me be clear: I don’t believe in magic bullets. I don’t think you can carry a gemstone in your pocket while you sit on the couch and watch reality TV and expect to have good things happen to you. Although it sure is true that people who work hard aren’t guaranteed of success, if you don’t expend significant energy on achieving your dreams, it’s a pretty sure bet that you’ll be disappointed.
That being said, I do believe that gemstones can help you realize your goals. Which ones? It depends.
 Gems to encourage positive thinking Green stones, specifically moss agate, green garnet, green aventurine, and malachite can help you achieve prosperity. Tiger eye has been used to achieve and maintain financial success. Citrine, labradorite, bloodstone, and peridot can also help you achieve success.
But is that all that’s needed?
I believe positive thinking is at least as important as anything else we can do. Sure, we need to be realistic, but negative thinking patterns bring negativity toward you; positive thoughts and actions bring positive responses. If you think you’ll fail, chances are you will; if you believe you’ll get that job you’re interviewing for, you’re more likely to get the offer. Amazonite, garnet, and snowflake obsidian help to transform negative thoughts into beneficial ones. Rainbow quartz is particularly good at encouraging a positive outlook and helping you to see the positive possibilities of any situation.
 Gems that enhance creativity Creativity and flexibility are also important attributes in tough times. Expand your mind and expand your possibilities. How can your current skill set and your past experiences be applied to a complementary position, or even to a completely new field? Green garnet, citrine, and green aventurine all encourage creativity. Malachite promotes flexibility.
There are other characteristics that are likely helpful, too. Courage, openness, and protection are just a few.
Of course, these are broad overviews; the properties of each stone should be studied more carefully to reflect your specific situation. Contact me for personal consultation and the creation of a gemstone talisman designed just for you.
 Amazonite Amazonite was named for the Amazon River, or maybe for the mythological Amazon women warriors. In fact, deposits of this lovely blue stone have not been found near the Amazon River, and who knows the real story of the Amazon women? How do things get named like this? People see something, think it looks like something else, start calling it that repeatedly, and eventually the name sticks, just like that unwanted nickname your brother gave you.
An earth stone, amazonite has many healing properties. It is believed to increase courage and strength of will. It also helps to change negative thinking patterns into more positive ones, and to inspire truth, eloquence, and trust. When held near the third eye or sixth chakra (center of the forehead), amazonite helps unlock psychic vision and improve clairvoyance. But it’s not over yet. Amazonite has a calming effect and can help with clarity of thought and improve creativity. Other healing uses for this gemstone include easing childbirth to clearing skin eruptions, alleviating muscle spasms to providing more physical energy.
 Russian amazonite Historically, the most desired amazonite was deeper colored, had more green in it, and came from Russia. However in the late 1800s beautiful strains were found in Colorado, overshadowing the Russian strains. Interestingly, amazonite that has darker green colors is generally still called Russian amazonite, regardless of where it is mined.
 Amazonite Cuff Bracelet Amazonite has been used in decorations for centuries. Archeologists have unearthed items made from amazonite by the ancient Egyptians and other Middle Eastern cultures. Personally, I love amazonite paired with onyx – I think the combination serves both stones well. I also like the combo of amazonite cubes and onyx rounds in this particular cuff, creating interest that all of one shape couldn’t accomplish. Although this bracelet isn’t on my website just yet, you can always contact me through here or their to order one.
WARNING: Amazonite is NOT a stone you’d want your toddler to suck on, amazonite gets its color from the presence of lead. I don’t know if the lead can leach out, but I wouldn’t want to test it with my child! So I’d suggest not wearing jewelry or talisman made from amazonite while you’re nursing or while you have a young child who’s likely to be often carried and putting things in her mouth.
In addition to providing protection through healing gemstones, I take care of my customers in other ways.
Like all small businesses in the U.S. (ok, more to the point in my case, like all one-woman operations), I watched closely the twists and turns of the Federal government regarding the Consumer Protection Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Approved in 2008, this law came about as a result of an influx of unsafe children’s products, from toys to jewelry to furniture and more, that caused the little ones health problems. It’s true that the problem items involving lead content and/or a nasty plastic chemical, were mostly made very cheaply in foreign countries, but we take our children’s health pretty seriously here, and wanted to be sure that the law was sufficiently broad to ensure that there weren’t lots of loopholes that manufacturers or importers could use to their advantage. As with all things, there were unintended consequences: small toy makers, jewelry makers, and other cottage industries are also covered by the law, and the original testing standards would essentially put us all out of business.
 Handwoven Baby Blanket course, there were lots of contacts with elected officials and testimony before the Consumer Product Safety Commission prior to the law’s targeted implementation date of 2/10/09. The final result is that some provisions for testing have been delayed for about a year, and guidelines were established for child safety in the interim.
I don’t need to worry in either the jewelry or weaving portions of my business. Why? As long as I don’t use any metallic yarns in my weaving (and I don’t), yarns and other fibers have been deemed safe. (If people are making clothing for children, they do need to ensure that zippers, snaps, and other items are lead-free.) So you can purchase your handwoven baby blanket from me with confidence.
 Braided necklace - turquoise & 14K gold-filled As for the jewelry, most of my work is created from semi-precious gemstones, sterling silver, and 14K gold-filled components. All have been deemed safe. I do occasionally use high-quality silver-plate components to keep things affordable, and I will need to ensure that either I only purchase component items that have been tested as lead-free, or I only use such components in adult jewelry. It’s extremely rare for me to use any plastic in my creations, and I simply won’t do it at all anymore. So buy away without worry!
My amethyst blog entry generated an interesting question, asking more about quartz. I’m betting that lots of people would like to know more about it, so instead of detailing another gemstone this time, I’m sharing my quartz answer.
 Amethyst Geode Quartz is the world’s most abundant gemstone; in fact, an amazing 12% of the Earth’s crust is made of quartz! Probably most people have seen it without knowing it. You’ve probably seen and picked up rocks with little shiny bits in them – as a kid you may have even thought they shiny bits were diamonds. Well no, they’re not diamonds, but quartz. (But wouldn’t it be cool if they WERE diamonds? But then if they were, diamonds wouldn’t be so valuable, so I guess it all works out in the end.)
I’m not going to go into the geology of it all, but there are basically two types of quartz – those with large crystals that we can easily see with our naked eyes, and those with crystals so small they require a microscope to see them. The first group has some familiar gemstones like amethyst, citrine, aventurine, tiger eye, smoky quartz, and rose quartz.
The second group, quartzes with small crystals, are commonly called chalcedony. This is a large group that includes agates, jaspers, onyx, bloodstone, carnelian, and stones simply referred to by their color names – blue, purple, pink, and green chalcedony. It is these latter stones that are now most often seen in imitation glass versions. The pretty blue “quartz” and cherry “quartz” that are readily available are actually colored glass. Beware when buying them to make sure you’re getting what you’re paying for.
But from my perspective, what’s most interesting is that so many of the stones that I work with, from amethyst to Botswana agate, red jasper to onxy, are all forms of quartz! They look so different, that I didn’t know the geology behind them was so similar. Guess I should have paid more attention in that college geology class!
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