Stones from Around the World
Now I have to tell you that since I was a teenager I have been fascinated by beads. So wherever I have travelled I have always looked for new or ancient or interesting beads I have not seen before. When I am home I go to many wholesale bead shows, to the Bead Society bead shows where there are many dealers with fabulous stories of their travels around the world searching for special beads to share with all of us. When I was younger I would rummage through my mother’s jewelry box and to her chagrin I would find a necklace with stones that fascinated me and take it apart and use the beads to make a new and different design, Any city or country I travel to in my life voyages I always manage to visit the local bead shops and sometimes go t local mines that have stone shops, I do this automatically as if I were born to search out these special beauties, I search out gemologists who mine stones. I visit dealers who bring back ancient beads from the Middle East, from counties I feel it is not safe for me to visit at this time, such as Afghanistan, Iran, and also Eastern Europe. I guess it is my passion although I have never seen it that way. To me it is my way of life. I just love to play with beads and stones.
Caribbean
One of the most beautiful and powerful healing stones I have ever encountered is Larimar, which is found in the cavities formed by volcanic basaltic lava on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean.
Larimar cools tempers and calms fears and connects you to the Divine Feminine. So Larimar is recommended for phobias, panic attacks or stress-related imbalances. It is said to heal the throat chakra so that you can communicate your truth, to speak from your heart.
Larimar is found only in the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean. Larimar is a bluish green stone that naturally moves you to release stuck emotions within you to rise to the surface so you can acknowledge and release them. This allows you to release deep emotional patterns so you can once again connect with your inner joy.
Formed by volcanic fire and cooled in the sea Larimar has the power of the sea and yet the fire of its origins. It is believed that Larimar can connect you to the ancient wisdom of Atlantis. Larimar is also known as the Dolphin Stone as it is believed to have the power of dolphins who have been known to help humans to harmonize body and soul.
Click here to see Caribbean Inspiration
Brazil
Some of my most beautiful and powerful quartz crystal comes from Brazil. The mines and the wild parts of Brazil hold some of the most incredible crystals you will find anywhere in the world.
Truly Brazil holds some of the most incredible treasures of the earth: fantastic high quality quartz crystal, emeralds, tourmaline, spessartine garnet, green gahnite, topaz----it is a wonderland of minerals and gemstones. I love all of the stones that are found in Brazil but my favorites are the amethyst and high quality quartz crystal. I guess I like quartz crystal because it holds and generates energy so it is useful for its beauty but it also expands the energy of whatever you are wearing with it. There is something so very special that you feel when wearing these gorgeous quartz crytals.
Click here to see Brazilian Inspiration
Ireland
Ireland is the green heart of our planet earth. When I was in Ireland we stopped at every small shrine near water falls where people left their prayers and wishes attached to the trees and bushes that lined the mountain brooks. I found that often when you wear the stones found in Ireland it lifts you as if the spirits of the wee fairies are walking and dancing with you. Some of my most favorite stones come from Ireland.
In Ireland you can find Beryl which gives us Aquamarine, Morganite, Emerald Helliodor and Goshenite. Aquamarine is a stone I often use in my necklaces for relaxation. It calms and soothes you. Morganite is the highest vibration love stone on the planet. No wonder it comes from Ireland, the green heartland of our earth. I place Morganite in my Love and Healing Necklaces. I just love to hold Morganite in my hand as it always raises your vibration to a soft gentle love level. If you are sensitive or intuitive you will feel it. But even if you do not feel it Morganite will affect you, consciously or unconsciously.
Ireland is also the home of the green healing stones of Peridot and Serpentine. Serpentine is a stone that is considered a luck stone, as it is believed to bring abundance to you. I love Serpentine because it is a high grade healing stone that tends to bring emotions to the surface so you can release them. Many healers always carry a pocket size serpentine stone with them as they travel.
Click here to see Jewelry inspired by our Travels to Ireland
England
When I visited my British friends they took me to a Spring celebration of the Green Man. There were Morris Dancers and people dressed in woodland green clothes for the occasion. I used that feeling of connection to nature to create my Green Man necklace. The Green Man is the spirit of nature and is most prevalent from Spring through summer when the light increases and the plants grow.
England has some fascinating amber with a deep rich color often called “Hastings Firestorm Amber” as it was caused by forest fires in the Cretaceous period.
They also have fluorite, topaz, beryl and amethyst. Most of my American woman friends love amethyst which is considered both a spiritual and a love stone.
Click here to see Jewelry inspired by our Travels to England
Scotland
Scotland is a treasure trove of high quality gemstones. Found there are diamonds, rubies, garnet, topaz and sapphires.
Scotland is what we call a “Crown Chakra Country,” Many Scots have visions and portents—as they pull in a very high level of information through their Crown Chakras (the Seventh Chakra which is the energy center that sits in the baby soft spot on the top of your head,) So sometimes the stones and gems that you wear that were mined in Scotland can also aid you to get higher information. Scotland is a land of history, legend and strength
Smokey Quartz is the National Gem of Scotland and is considered a sacred stone. The Smokey Quartz mined in Scotland is often worn by spiritual people who wish to see beyond illusion; by business people who wish to see through deceit; and by many who also wish to see that which is hidden. Scotland indeed is a very mystical land!
The Holy Land (Israel, Egypt, Afghanistan,)
The area of the Holy Land is a mecca for ancient beads that united the past and present. I discovered I could buy modern copies of ancient faience beads—those beautiful paste blue Egyptian beads of Bast, the Cat Goddess. When I visited Egypt with my Clairvoyant students I was taken with the blue faience used for beads and small statues. Blue Faience is composed mainly of silica (sand or crushed quartz), along with small amounts of sodium and calcium, so faience is considered a non-clay ceramic. When it is fired it creates a self-glazing efforescence. I came home with modern made blue faience cat Bast beads that I now use in my special Homage to Cats necklace that has a blue faience Egyptian cat centerpiece and goldstone pyramid beads and scarabs as well as some pretty gemstones that evoke the mystery of the cat. Some museums have ancient examples of early Egyptian faience also called “paste.” You can probably google pictures of this.
When I first went to Israel in 1967 I discovered falafel, hummus, the Stations of the Cross on Vis Dolorosa and the Wailing Wall. I also discovered olive wood. Whenever I can get some olive wood beads from Israel or Syria I add them into my summer necklaces or join them with turquoise, citrine and chrysocolla. Olive wood beads have been used for centuries. They do not cut down olive wood trees for beads but instead use a few branches, I do not sell olive wood beads that have been blessed as I believe you need to bless your own beads, call on your belief system directly and align your beads to you. If you need to know how to do this I can share this with you.
Israel’s unique stone is Eilat Stone, a blue green stone sometimes mistaken for Turquoise. However Eilat Stone is no longer being mined and it is quite rare and rather expensive now I use a similar stone called Chrysocolla which is a blue green healing stone. Healers say you can hold it to a part of your body where there is pain and it can diminish the pain. So my healing necklaces with Chyrsocolla are usually a good sized slab so you can remove the necklace and hold it to a part of your body if you need to.
You can also find ancient Roman Glass unearthed at archaeological sites and amateur digs throughout the Middle East that many jewelers now use for necklaces. It often has a very beautiful greenish/blue glow to it.
Afghanistan has what we call the poor beader’s super incredible find--a very special high quality crystal. It’s called Double Terminated Quartz which is incredibly similar to Herkimer diamonds. However Herkimer Diamonds are trademarked as only found in New York State. The Afghani stones I have discovered are different. They have a more balanced hue while the Herkimer Diamonds seem cooler or more blue whitish light.
When I was in Japan I discovered the most incredible Lapis Lazuli. Lapis comes from many countries however the Afghani Lapis is softer with a more gentle feel to it. The Japanese treasure Lapis and I discovered a special shop in Tokyo that had the finest quality Lapis I have ever seen. A few years later I discovered an Afghan dealer who comes to the Tucson Gem Show. It seems to me that the Afghan Lapis is kind of like that same gentle Afghani way the Afghani people seem to have. The Afghani Lapis carries a mysterious yet calm kind of intuitive depth that the people also seem to possess.
The Far East (China, Japan, Thailand,)
In Japan I managed to find cute modern Hello Kitty beads—that are wonderful for necklaces for children. I also discovered porcelain beads made into Darumas (the Zen priest who took Buddhism from China to Japan and is used for Good Luck in Japan.), as well as copies of ancient Japanese icons (horses, animals, people). Sometimes I would find pre WW2 Japanese beads that often have a glow and sparkle to them.
Thailand has many gemstones (rubies, sapphires, jade). They also have a fascinating variety of amulets people wear for Good Luck. Most of these are made in clay or porcelain. The amulets range from $1 to $10,000 depending on the “Luck Authenticity” and is a hidden cultural tradition with special magazines that the Thai people do not wish to share for fear of having their amulet market ruined by Western Greed.
China
China has some of the most unique and spectacular stones I have ever seen. They are rough and raw and thus truly represent the energy they radiate. One stone I found is known as a “singing” stone, Vesurianite Idocrase from the Central Asia ChengChang Mountain, which I made into a necklace as a gift for a friend of mine who teaches opera singing and choreographs opera performances. Like the U.S. China is also a huge nation with many resources and so many raw materials and special stones.
Of course Jade is the primo stone of China. Chinese people tell me it does change color based on the health of the person wearing it.
Tibet
The most famous bead from Tibet is the Dzi Bead, (pronounced Zee). Dzi beads have become surrounded by myth and mystery. They are etched agates that people have come to believe were created by the Gods and so ward off evil and bad luck and protect the owner from harm. Originally these beads came from Tibet (now called “China”) but now these beads come from India and Nepal. And machine made copies come from Taiwan. Authentic Dzi Beads are very expensive, often two thousand dollars each or more. I have heard many of these stories of there being a bus crash on mountain roads in Taiwan and the only survivor was the one person who was wearing a Dzi Bead!. Often people will sell you eye beads saying that they are Dzi Beads but Dzi Beads are different. I often use the lucky Tibetan style Eye Beads in my necklaces. Modern Asian Eye Beads are often porcelain and not agates.
Africa
Recently I acquired some very ancient drilled stones from Mali. They are Agate beads from Mali West Africa from the Neolithic Period which is roughly 10,000 years ago. I find ancient beads to have a way of reconnecting us to our origins and the essence of the earth so I greatly treasure them. These stone beads are disk shaped sand color with drilled holes. I added pearls. Swarovski Crystal, and a sterling hand of healing to them, I often collect ancient stones, One mine owner gave me some stones he mined called Jade of the Ancients, They are just stones, not beads. But everyone who holds them feels grounded, calmed and connected to the God Sourced of the planet. I love to hold them every once in a while and get my friends who visit to also hold them and share their reactions. I feel that we urban dwellers need to make that earth connection, to the spiritual nature of the earthy wonderment.
African Trade Beads have wondrous colors with unique designs. The older beads are quite pricey as they have a special beauty to them. The more modern beads are fun too. Whenever I can I like to include these beads in necklaces that need a lift of design and color. These strong colors and designs lend themselves easily to modern designed necklaces.
Egypt
When I was in Egypt I was thrilled by seeing the modern copies of Faience beads made into those wondrous Egyptian eye beads and the Traditional Egyptian style Bast Cat mini bead statues I use in my Awesome necklace collections. Blue Faience is so very special and only the Egyptians still make these special beads.
India
India is such a spiritual country. I have gotten many beautiful gems from India but the ones I treasure most are the beads my friends bring back that are the spiritual beads often used in prayer beads, such as Rudraksha, Myrrh, Lotus Seed, Shiva Lingam and others. I also have a friendly dealer who gets me ancient Indian sterling beads and God Pendants that I incorporate into my necklaces.
Russia
I was so excited when I discovered Russian Amethyst. It has a very deep color and reminds me of the power, strength and joie de vivre of my Russian Friends.
Lithuanian Amber
I was told by my mother that my grandfather came to America from Lithuania. That was about all I ever found out about him. But when I discovered Lithuanian Amber somehow I felt it created a small connection. I discovered a Lithuanian Amber company that carves Amber into the Merkabah geometric shape. Merkabah.. I have stone Merkabahs (Quartz, Rose Quartz, Aventurine,) but the Amber Merkabah is so much more gentle. I use loose Merkabah stones in many of my High Energy Necklaces.
For me these Merkabah Amber necklaces have a life of their own. I hang all of my special necklaces off of a shelf near my bed so even if I am not wearing them I can view them and enjoy their presence. Some days I feel as if the Merkabah Amber is speaking to me. I have a few of these special Merkabah Amber necklaces. People just love them. The star tetrahedron Merkabah field consists of two inter-penetrating three-sided pyramids. “Mer” means Light. “Ka” means Spirit. “Ba” means Body. It links the mind, spirit, and body to produce the Merkabah effect, an energy field that allows for enlightenment. Wearing a Merkabah enhances your energy and puts you in touch with your higher divine nature
Native American
For fifteen years I led tours—every other year—to Sedona for my Japanese Spiritual students. We went hiking to special vortex sites, did a sweat lodge with various Native American tribes and went shopping in Sedona. My favorite shopping in Sedona was a special Native American shop (kind of off the beaten track) that sold ancient Native Beads. Beautiful Ghost Beads, Bone Beads, Carved animal beads, ancient Chevrons brought over from Europe, and other mosaic beads that Indians cherished and traded for as well as shells, dried berries, and dried Indian corn. I have used whatever I find to add to my more modern necklaces. I have always liked to add older beads and integrate them into modern necklaces. It adds character to the necklace. I also like to collect old Native American healing stones that are powerful and can be added to my healing necklaces.
European Rose Beads
When I have time to pursue my loves I really love to take rose petals and make the European rose beads the ancient church Nuns used for Rosaries. This process takes preparation and time to reduce the petals into a mash that can be formed into beads. When finished they have this marvelous smell as the warmth of your hands or skin triggers the beads to release their smell.