Mystical Beads And Stones

By Author: Marie Wakefield
Total Articles: 13
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Getting information about the powers of stones and beads never proved to be easier, now that this article has been written. Read on to learn more--
You go the small, hard to find shop. Once there, the proprietor asks you to write your name and address- not deliver anything to you, but to decide which stone beads are "right" for you. Strings of specially chosen beads are created here in Okinawa by reinosha or shamans. These bracelets of elastic with the beads of aventurine, turquoise, topaz, rose quartz and many other minerals or materials are supposed to change your mood, or at least give you good luck.

Three good reasons to wear stones:
1. Wearing the right stones can draw energies into your life, such as love, success, stability, excitement. Usually the color determines this. Wearing green stones like emeralds attracts money. Rubies are for passion.
2. Wearing stone can affect your chakras or energy centers. Rose quartz soothes a broken heart. Turquoise energizes the throat helping a shy person communicate. Lapis can open the third eye or forehead chakra, giving insight and vision.
3. Wearing ...
... stones can be used for protection. If you feel that a certain stone or piece of jewelry has been good for you in the past, you will like wearing it. It's your lucky stone, and doesn't matter what it is.

WIKIPEDIA SAYS- A pair of beads made from Nassarius shells that are approximately 100000 years old are thought to be the first known examples of jewelery.

Both stones and beads have long histories in the realm of magic and belief.

During the Middle Ages information on the properties of stones was also essential to anyone responsible for the health and well-being of a large household. Thus stones were thought to be of practical use in risky undertakings such as childbirth; or curing the sick when pestilence was commonplace.

The following list is of beads materials and their associations.
Amber: Light of the sun
Agate: Protects against poison
Rock crystal: Strength against odds
Black onyx: Willpower
Hematite: Anti-depression and blood strength
Jade: Associated with immortality
Fluorite: Meditation and enlightenment
Coral: Bestows wisdom
Amethyst: Intelligence enhancement
Lapis lazuli: Relaxation
Turquoise: Health
Rose quartz: Attracts Love
Goldstone: Attitude

Based on the theory that stones, especially crystals vibrate at a certain frequency; a stone's energy can be used to balance the body's electromagnetic waves. Others believe that wearing certain stones can affect your chakras or energy centers.

It is not unusual for old families residing in the British Isles to possess stones of virtue which were carefully preserved as heirlooms, and perhaps something more. The Lee family in Scotland,for example, was said to have a red stone set in a silver coin; if the family cattle became ill, immersing the stone in their drinking trough would lend its water the power to affect a cure.

Beads also have a rich history of spirituality and ritual use that comes from prayer beads and the belief in healing powers of gemstones. For thousands of years, man has used beads to adorn himself and aid in spiritual and ritual rites. The root word for bead, bede means to pray, and the earliest use of prayer beads is traced to the Hindus. Stringing beads together allowed the user to keep track of the number of prayers repeated.

The traditional Buddhist mala is comprised of 108 beads , whereas Muslim prayer beads , called subha or tisbah , contain 99 beads; the Catholic rosary consists of between 38 and 169 beads.

Once the church decided rosaries were better suited for counting devotions than for talismanic protection, persons of the cloth were forbidden from carrying "pagan" rosaries made from coral, quartz or amber.

DID YOU KNOW?In the Middle Ages the name topaz was used to refer to any yellow gemstone.

Whether or not you believe in the power of stones or beads, all jewelry has some magic. Perhaps you have inherited a ring which was actually considered to be a lucky piece, worn daily by a great-grandparent? Or a gemstone in an unusual setting? Or a small string of coral beads whose original meaning as a christening gift has been largely forgotten? So rather than travel to Okinawa for a special shaman's bracelet, maybe you should just dig through your jewelry box for some magic.

RECOMMENDED READING:Healing Crystals and Gemstones: From Amethyst to Zircon by Flora Peschek-Bohmer , Gisela Schreiber and Sibylle Dausien ,Gemstones (Smithsonian Handbooks) by Cally Hall ,Gemstones of the World: Newly Revised & Expanded Third Edition by Walter Schumann.