Sacred Tools FAQ

A number of you have asked me to create a Sage Goddess FAQ for how to work with gemstones and magical tools. Here it is! I’ll add to the post every so often so check back occasionally to see what new Qs and As have been offered. You can find all the items you see pictured and discussed here are on my website.

HOW DO I USE MAGICALLY-CRAFTED CANDLES?
Magically crafted candles like mine are similar to other candles you burn in your home except that they are made at specific moon phases for specific purposes. Some sites and people will tell you to burn them in very specific ways (every day, for a certain number of minutes per day). My rule of thumb is to use them regularly when you are working on that purpose. I like to meditate on my purpose for a few minutes each evening, and I generally light my magical candles only when I am working on that issue. I keep all of my magical candles together in a large basket and take the ones out that I need when I am focused on that purpose. Some of my candles last me for years. Others I burn in a week or less. Let your intuition guide you. Keep in mind that magical candles are usually made of beeswax and soy anointed with oils. They are not “Yankee” type candles with heavy scent. The point is the energy, not the smell. You can always add perfume oils to your candles as they burn to add scent if you like, and also to add the energy of the oil to your candle. Just pour a few drops into the melted wax around the wick while burning.

HOW DO I USE MY GEMSTONES?
For tumbled stones, I like to keep them in a circle around the base of my candles as you see here, or in a set near by bed, in my purse, or medicine bag if you carry one. For larger pieces, I often place a large piece of quartz or specimen mineral on my altar. Some of my larger pieces have been on my altar for more than a decade. When you buy a set of stones from me, they have been charged with energy for that purpose so I recommend keeping them together, and even keeping them in their little organza pouch, because they have energetic properties together that are important for the purpose you chose. Meditate with them, anoint them with oil, carry them with you. Stones develop relationships with their owners. Let yours get to know you! And most of all, enjoy them. Don’t tuck them in drawers or cabinets. Let your gems be “working stones.”

HOW DO I USE MY OILS?
Oil blends are magical to me. Essential oils are as old as time and each one has a unique scent, set of properties and healing benefits that make it totally unique. You can use all of my perfume blends as perfume – and many do, they smell so beautiful! But you can also add them to your candles, pour a little in your bath water, anoint your stones with them, add to coconut or jojoba oil to create massage blends, add to lotion or moisturizer for your face and body. The options are virtually limitless! You can also blend them together and that’s fun, too. A few of my blends were actually customer recommendations that they discovered while “playing” with their oils and mixing them together!

WHAT IS AN ALTAR?
An altar is a sacred space where you keep your most precious working tools. You need a candle, some gems, an oil, sage or other smudging herb, a feather, and a lighter to light your candle and herbs. I like to keep quartz points at the four corners of my altar to raise energy, and smoky quartz and black tourmaline to keep the altar guarded and safe. I also keep salt under my altar to purify the energies around it. I like to hold my smudging herbs in an abalone shell because that is the traditional native way and the shell represents the element of water (a balance of the 4 elements on your altar space is a nice touch!). Some also keep a vessel of fresh water and even fresh flowers on their altar to bring life to this sacred arrangement. I change my altar seasonally to reflect the work I am doing at the time.

DO I NEED TO CHARGE OR CLEAR MY TOOLS?
Yes, you do – most of them. The only stones that never need to be cleared are black and blue kyanite, because they do not hold or transfer energy. All other stones can be imprinted with energies and need to be cleared periodically. You can clear stones by visualizing clear energy around them, by passing them through white sage smoke, by anointing them with a clearing oil (my Sanctus blend is a customer favorite for this purpose), or by placing them for a moment in a vessel of salt.

WHERE DO I BEGIN WITH SACRED TOOLS?
It’s a challenge to figure out where to start! There’s so much to learn and see and create. I offer a fun foundational gemstone, candle,  and smudging set for beginners that gives you the basic gem tools everyone needs to do magical work. I also offer a magical gemstone grab bag that lets me choose stones for you for a specific purpose, which customers love. My intention candles are my number one best selling item of all time at Sage Goddess! You tell me what you want to focus on and I make a custom-crafted beeswax candle anointed with the appropriate oils, just for you. And my Well Offering allows me to create a set of items for you and you can direct me – do you want stones and a candle, a candle and oil? What for? Once you write and tell me your intention, I get to work on a set that will be functional, beautiful, and effective for you and your work. I also teach courses on gems and rituals so if you’d like to learn more, please visit my course page for registration information.

Most of all, ENJOY the process of collecting tools, which for me has joyfully taken a lifetime. Remember that stones in particular are heirloom treasures. I tell people that they are investing in items that one day their grandchildren will treasure, especially because they are passed down and loved and used in such magical ways. So it is!