Crystals - Believing or knowing?

I Love Crystals.
Look around My home and You'll find them everywhere.
Large Specimens of quartz can be found in family rooms,

Amethyst clusters in bedrooms.
Jade in My workspace.
I wear crystals.
I believe in the energies of crystals, or rather,
I Know.

As a Reader, I've worked in several Metaphysical stores.
Someone is always asking about crystals.
You'll find bins with all sorts of crystals, gemstones.
You'll usually find a description, straight from a book -

alongside these crystals.
Of course You'll also find books on the subject.

Where exactly does this information come from?
How do We know what properties each crystal carries?
Many stones, crystals have properties attributed to them
for centuries.
Ancient peoples  Egyptian, Greek, Celtic - All used stones

for healing, magickal purposes.
In ancient India, Asia, Africa  -
Stones were ascribed to specific energies.
Is it  knowledge these ancient peoples had,
That passed down to Us?
Or perhaps simply belief that breathed the life
into these qualities, each stone carries?

What about newer finds & made made crystals?

Where exactly do these properties come from?
Who decided what Aqua Aura does?
Or Zincite?  Any number of newer discoveries.

We must learn for ourselves.
We must experience on our own.
Books are a great starting point,
but remember that often times it's based on another's
experience.

Smoky Quartz may be a great stone for grounding or protection
for One person,
But it may make another nervous, edgy.
I love Aragonite in it's raw form -
It grounds & helps me meditate. 
I find it a great hand stone -
But someone else may just say meh, does nothing.

It's fine to read books.

To ask others for guidance.
However, when it comes to "Knowing" ,
We must gain that knowledge for ourselves.

May the Stone people whisper their secrets to your heart.

A May 1st Card Reading

Wanting to share a message for both those celebrating Beltaine
And those celebrating Samhain,
I asked Spirit for some guidance.
Two cards, one for Beltaine -
One for Samhain.
So I choose.  One at a time.
The first for those celebrating Beltaine:

10 of Pentacles

A culmination.  Abundance.
Reaping the rewards of hard work.
For some a time to celebrate,
For others, A time to sit back, reflect & access
one's goals and accomplishments.
But there's more here..
As I looked at the card,
The Godfather flashed in My mind.
There was the image of the aged Vito Corleone,

sitting  outdoors in his chair.  Surrounded by the land.
All his work, good and bad has reached it's pinnacle.
He sits back, takes time for pleasure.  For family.  His young
grandson runs around playfully.  Then Vito expires.

Sometimes Spirit delivers the message with a touch of humor.
10 of pentacles is a culmination.  It is a time sit back & take pleasure
in what we've accomplished. 
We must also be ready to move on. It is time to say goodbye to
the old.  There are fresh new projects, ideas,

waiting just around that corner.  Life comes & goes in cycles.
We must embrace them.

Then I pulled a card for Samhain:

The endless dance of Death!

 A little tongue in cheek, but I should expect this.
Spirit has a sense of humor, when delivering a message.
Samhain.  The dark half of the year.  The earth slumbers.
Oh but look at the activity going on away from our sight.
Life is sometimes a struggle.  There may be difficulties,
lean times.  But there will be fabulous moments.  It is up
to Us to learn how to manuever.  To get through the hard times,
We must work with what we have, not fight against it.
We need to take time out to honor those who have come before -
Their blood, sweat, bones have created the foundation We have
today.
Life comes in cycles. We can not change that fact.  We must
learn to dance with life. The Good, the not so...
Embrace life.  May Your dance be a joyful one.

Blessings!

May Day Meditation

I woke up this May Morning & headed outside.
Washing My face in the morning dew or more likely
rainwater.

I spent a little while in My garden meditating.
Asking Spirit, What is the message for Beltaine/Samhain?
Is there a commonality? A shared message between these
celebrations.

Nature's balance. Changes & transitions.
Beltaine, The celebration of Summer.
The growth begun in the Spring reaches fruition,
preparing us for the harvest.
The fruits of of labor which sustains us through the Winter.

Samhain, The coming of the dark half of the year.
The earth rests. Storing Her nutrients deep within.
Providing sustenance to the seeds lying dormant,
through the cold dark season.

Nature exists in balance.
Man has a way of upsetting that balance.
But nature will eventually win out.
Life is like that.
We can resist the changes, transitions that come our way.
But in the end, change is inevitable.
It is the balance of life.

Go gracefully into this cycle of change.
May Your path be Blessed,
May your transitions flow easily!