Surprising stories from the stones

I once simply asked all my stones what they wanted to tell me. What I saw and heard was one of the biggest surprises I've encountered in this work.

I remember the moment I saw my first stone spirit. It was moonstone, and she looked exactly like a 1970s flower child. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that image. This was early in my psychic awakening. At that time, I was also waking at 3am most nights with words in my mouth—stones I'd never heard of; crystals and herbs for specific ailments; instructions for meditation practices; even a weird-as-heck astral journey. It was both fascinating and unsettling.

In a bid to understand what was happening to me, I began to try to connect with every stone in my keeping. One by one I picked them up and asked, "What do you want to tell me?" What I saw and heard was one of the biggest surprises I've encountered in this work. My stones told me of things they'd seen, of moments they'd experienced, and what they knew of the humans who passed through their environments. They were confirming for me that my awakening experience was real. They were also introducing me to the sentience of the stones, and the sensitivity of nature.

I told a few of these stories to my friend and mentor, Krista Mitchell, who strongly encouraged me to share them with you. So, here are four remarkable stone stories from my journal. If these interest you and you want to hear more, let me know in the comments. I've got a million of 'em.

Conquistadors in California

The first time I met the spirit of one of my stones, it was a piece of milky quartz I picked up in a field in California. The stone was bright white and shining in the sun. It was such a clear contrast from the brown of the grass, I would swear that piece of quartz was trying to catch my attention. The stone felt female to me, and I asked why she wanted me to pick her up. She said, “To show you that help can come from unexpected places.”

I then asked what she wanted to show me. I saw men in curved steel helmets riding on horseback. Metal glinted and red plumes waved. I heard the jangle of bridles and the snap of pennants in the wind. The view changed, and I saw native people in soft buckskin tunics. I heard chanting as a brown bowl of liquid was passed around in a smoky interior.

After a bit of research, I confirmed that the helmets I saw matched the Spanish morion worn by the Spanish conquistadors. These helmets were traditionally decorated with a plume of red feathers. I realized that the ridge on which I found the stone extends about 30 miles down to San Jose, the site of one of the 21 Spanish missions founded in California. The land on which the mission was built had been inhabited for generations by the Muwekma Ohlone tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Catholic saints and Spanish cowboys

As I set the milky quartz down on my desk, I heard, "Do me! Do me!" It was a particularly exuberant piece of pyrite.

It showed me an aristocratic man in a short, embroidered jacket, riding a fancy, high-stepping horse. I heard, “vaquero.” I saw more of these horses and heard, “paso fino.” I then saw Catholic priests in a processional, holding a cross. I saw the inside of a stone church, then a finger bone. I heard, “relic.”

Later I learned that a vaquero is a kind of Spanish cowboy. The Paso Fino is a naturally gaited horse of Spain whose name means "fine step." Finally, I found that a church in Avila, Spain is home to a relic of Saint Teresa. The relic just happens to be her ring finger. Among other places, pyrite is mined in Spain.

Gazelles and grieving mothers

Curiosity led me to try to connect with my green jasper pendulum. I was shocked to see

sick children and grieving mothers. I then saw elephants and deer-like mammals with long straight horns. I heard, “temples.”

After some research, I identified the horned mammals as gazelles. I learned that some green jasper is mined in India, where one can find elephants, gazelles, and temples. Two of the three Indian jasper mines are located near Bhopal where, 35 years ago, the world’s worst industrial disaster permanently affected the people of the region.

Sun worshippers in South America

Pondering my next practice, I felt pulled to my hematoid quartz palm stone and asked what it wanted to say.

I saw a brown-skinned man in a green-feathered headdress. His headdress was shaped a bit like a crown, with the feathers pointing up and back. The man was reverently holding something up in the air and I heard, “sun worship.” I saw another brown-skinned man in a headdress of green feathers, but his was a different style—the feathers were arranged on either side of his face, pointing down and toward his cheeks. I saw a dark stone room with windows set high in the wall, and had the sense that pyramids were nearby.

Afterward I learned that hematoid quartz is primarily found in Brazil, home of the sun-worshipping Inca. The Maya, Inca, and Aztec prized the green feathers of the macaw and quetzal. They used featherwork in many ways, including for ceremonial headgear. Finally, in addition to the pyramids of nearby Mexico and Peru, archaeologists have found some of the world's oldest pyramids on the Atlantic coast of Brazil.