Welcome to Judith's Crystal Cave Teachings, my virtual home. 
Here is where I share my thoughts on spirituality, life, humor, Crystals, and various topics I hope people will find interesting. We are far more than we know. We all have magic within us, waiting to be tapped into. I want to support that awakening, that recognition of what we are: Eternal souls on a journey through space and time, here to evolve, learn, and grow. All that I've learned from the teachers in my life, the elders, the animals, the stones, the trees, the elements, the stars, and all that I am, is shared here, in this space. My training in Classical Chinese Medicine, ( and Taoism ), including the Stones, 5-Element theory, Essential Oils, and herbs, Astrology, and my insights as a Clairvoyant Empath are all shared here. With empathy, love, and my bizarre sense of humor, I am honored to share my perspectives on this Earth walk with you. One of the great loves in my life has always been nature, especially what native people call "The Stone People". I have been working with, and teaching about Crystals and Minerals for most of my life. All of the indigenous cultures around the world describe the stones as the oldest living beings on the planet. The Taoists consider them to be the most powerful healing modality that there is. Part of the reason I started my website was to introduce these Master Healers to people unfamiliar with them, since most people have limited access to a Taoist Master or a native elder. Most books available today focus on either the metaphysical properties of stones, or the mineralogical make-up of the stones. I wanted to offer material that is ancient, from my decades of study, along with my direct experiences, dreams, and visions with the stones as an Alchemist, Clairvoyant Empath and Mystic. My home is filled with a Shaman's tools, drums, rattles, feathers, art, Stones, Essential Oils, Herbs, Sage, Sweetgrass, tobacco for ceremony... All of these things combine together to create an energy that is healing for all who enter, and to challenge the trance-like state western culture creates in us, which inhibits and blocks us from achieving our true potential. This part of my website is designed to do that, to challenge that trance state, offering a different perspective on life that includes magic, and an opportunity to explore other dimensions and realities. My actual home in real life is very unusual, a geodesic dome and subterranean home built into the side of a hill, with 35 tons of Calcite boulders that create the ceiling. A true Crystal Cave, unique and magical. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. I wanted to have, and make available for my clients, an environment for people to experience the Earth as it truly is, from an Indigenous culture perspective: Powerful, nurturing, magical, and Sacred. I want to invite people to embark on a journey into the mystical, the supernatural, where all living things are connected as one heart. And I want to include laughter, because laughter brings us into the moment more quickly than anything except love. So expect some snippets of my life that hopefully will make you smile. Come on a journey with me. |
New Additions
I found some amazing new Crystal beings over the weekend. I still have to photograph and add them to my store, but I wanted to at least share a partial list of the new inventory you can expect to see soon.
New for us is Stichtite, a purple Stone from S. Africa, some palm-sized stones of that. More gorgeous natural Citrines from Brazil, bringing the number I have on hand to about 60. Wow. Beautiful Chrysocolla Spheres from Peru, over 3″. Rhodonite Spheres over 3″. Huge Amethyst Spheres, 5″. Iolite, Sunstone, Vesuvianite, and Moss Agate Pyramids. Obsidian Obelisks. Angelite Spheres. Silver Leaf Agate puffy Hearts. Lapis Lazuli Spheres. Pyrite Spheres from Peru. Amethyst and Lepidolite Pendants. Stunning Smokey Quartz Points and Spheres, all translucent, with rainbows. So, a lot of typing and listing in my immediate future. We’ll bring it to you as quickly as possible. Feel free to call if you see something on the list you need.
Creating Sacred Space
Having a place in your home that feels Sacred, that represents your Spiritual path is important. Every time you see it, it’s a tangible reminder of the Spiritual aspect of your life. Whether it’s a bookcase shelf, a nightstand, an end table, any place can be used as an Altar to represent your path.
Some people use photos of loved ones or spiritual teachers. Some use Crystals or Stones. Some use Art, Bronzes or carvings of Power Animals, Fairies, Angels, Kuan Yins, Buddhas, etc. Some people place Runes, Tarot Cards, Rosary beads, I Ching tiles, everyone is different. Silk or fresh flowers, anything goes. It’s about what speaks to your Heart, what inspires you. Incense holders, Abalone Shells for Sage or Cedar, braids of Sweetgrass… Aromatherapy diffusers, all these things can contribute to making a niche in your home that reflects your Path, that is an island or oasis of calm in the center of the everyday aspects of your life.
The only thing that matters is what inspires you. Nature, a culture or message… Whatever lifts you up, and reminds you of the truth of what you are: An emanation of the Divine. You can check out my Altar Art page on my website for some ideas. Enjoy.
Avoiding Fakes
In the wonderful world of Crystals, there are a few hazards we all need to be aware of. One of those hazards is fakes. There are always people who will take advantage of a persons lack of experience or knowledge about something. In the case of Crystals, most of us are not geologists. We haven’t studied the mineral composition of stones.The good news is that there are a number of websites that offer mineral data, as well as books we can check. But here are some of the more obvious misrepresentations out there. 1. Heat-treated Amethyst sold as Citrine. This one is a common one. Brazil has a lot of gorgeous Amethyst. They discovered that if you bake it in a kiln at 878 degrees, it turns orangey brown.It is then marketed as Citrine. Natural Citrine is much more rare, therefore it’s more expensive. While the mineral composition is similar, it differs in a very important way, in the Crystal lattice structure. The Iron (FE) present in Amethyst is present as FE2 + FE4. In Citrine it is FE3. So you can heat Amethyst all you want and you’re still not changing the internal lattice structure and composition. It just looks different. And, it does not have the healing properties of Citrine. 2. Irradiated Quartz sold as Smokey Quartz. Smokey Quartz becomes smokey by absorbing small amounts of radiation from the Earth over millions of years. That’s what it continues to do in our homes and businesses. Placing a piece of Smokey Quartz near our computer or electrical appliances protects us, as the stone absorbs the energy emitted by these things into itself. People have found that if you intentionally irradiate clear Quartz it turns black, which they then market as Smokey Quartz. Now the Quartz is damaged, and looks and feels nothing like Smokey Quartz. A tip-off is any matrix the stone may have. Quartz that is milky white, not clear, cannot be artificially irradiated. So it stays milky. Also, Smokey Quartz is translucent, with rainbows and luster. Irradiated Quartz is flat and opaque. Most importantly, it can no longer absorb radiation from the environment. 3. Dyed stones. These scams can be harder to spot. On Ebay you see a lot of it. Turquoise, for instance. People take white Howlite, which is very cheap and has black veins running through it and soak it in Tidy Bowl. Voila, Turquoise. Seriously. If you chip off a piece of it it’s white inside. A good rule of thumb is to look at the price. Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli and other stones that can be dyed are not cheap. If it is, it’s probably a fake. My go-to source for mineral data is mindat.org. There are other scams I can talk about, but I’ll stop here for today. Happy Crystal buying.