Welcome to a new month of Gem Wise! I am so excited to take this journey deeper into the world of gems and crystals with you. No matter if you’re brand new to gems or more experienced and knowledgeable, this class is a place for all to take their learning deeper. If you’re new to Gem Wise, welcome! And if you were with me in July and August, I hope you enjoyed our classrooms on monoclinic and orthorhombic crystal structure.
To start with, you must remember that crystals grow naturally in the shape of polyhedra, which are solid shapes whose faces are polygons. Crystals are the closest physical representations of the Platonic Solids that we have. Though they are not perfectly formed as Plato’s ideals were, they offer us a good tangible example.
This month, we will be focusing on triclinic crystal structure. You received gorgeous examples of this structure in your Gem Wise kits – blue kyanite, rough amazonite, and a beautiful labradorite palm stone printed with “activate”, which corresponds to this month’s overall course curriculum for balance and new beginnings. I was drawn to include green turquoise, so you will receive this fourth gemstone with your kit this month. When a gift of the Earth specifically comes forward to be received, I am honored to share its medicine with you.
As beings searching and striving for our Soul Purpose, we must have access to our own inner wisdom and deep knowing. If we’re unable to tap into our innate vision, we must practice the energetic work required to uncover it. And we can look to specific crystal energies to activate this latent store of liminal sight. Distinct stones and gems vibrate at the exact frequency to crack your untapped field of vision wide open. They are powerful tools we can use to magnify and direct energy. Crystal structure is truly a magical thing.
Triclinic Crystals
Crystals in the triclinic system have three axes of unequal lengths that are inclined at nonorthogonal (non-perpendicular) angles relative to each other. The triclinic crystal structure has the least-symmetrical shape of all crystals. Triclinic crystal systems have the inner shape of a trapezium (three inclined angles). These crooked or bent crystals have no right angles. Turquoise and other minerals such as microline crystallize are in the triclinic system.
Triclinic crystals have a broad base, symbolizing a stable nature, but flipped upside down, the table turns, looking quite insecure. This structure represents the ability to flow with erratic changes in life, spontaneity, and unpredictability. These crystals embody the beauty of balanced imbalance, displaying freedom of thought, feeling and movement, especially from traditional clock time, or chronos (kronos). Triclinic type people often have an excellent sense of gut “timing”. In Greek, “kairos” is used to describe time in the sense of “opportune moment”. Triclinic crystal structure activates and expands our ability to tap into kairos. By learning to let things come and go in their own time (including ourselves and our creative thoughts and inspiration), we are more available to act in the perfect moment.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of minerals crystallize with a triclinic structure. To name a handful: Rhodonite, kyanite, amazonite, labradorite, pectolite, microline, and chalcanthite are among the triclinic crystals.
If you find yourself and your life flip-flopping beyond your control, triclinic crystals will help you find grounding and stability amidst unexpected challenges and the ups and downs of your thoughts and emotions. Simply carrying this stone with you and holding it in the palm of your hand will assist you in raising your own frequency, and embracing the transitory and dualistic nature of life. When you are balanced in the seeming imbalance, you will find yourself less attached to circumstances and reactions. The triclinic crystal structure will teach you that some of your most creative ideas and visions arise to consciousness in this space. Make note of them, and realize them, for they also come and go in their own time.
| Blue Kyanite | Rough Amazonite | Labradorite |
| Structure: Triclinic
Chakra: All, especially Third Eye and Heart Composition: Aluminum silicate Hardness: 4.5 to 7 Mineral Class: Silicates Astrological Sign: Taurus, Libra, Aries Element: Storm Mined in: Brazil, South Africa, Switzerland, Burma, Kenya, Mexico, USA Colors: Blue |
Structure: Triclinic
Chakra: Heart, Throat Composition: Potassium aluminum silicate Hardness: 6 to 6.5 Mineral Class: Silicates Astrological Sign: Virgo Element: Water Mined in: Brazil, Colorado, India, Madagascar, Namibia, Russia Colors: Green, blue-green |
Structure: Triclinic Chakra: AllComposition: Sodium calcium aluminum silicateHardness: 6 to 6.5 Mineral Class: Silicates Astrological Sign: Sagittarius, Scorpio, Leo Element: Wind Mined in: Canada, Madagascar, Mexico, Russia, USA Colors: White, yellow, green, brown, colourless, blue, grey |
Blue Kyanite
“I am in perfect balance within myself and the Universe. My mind is open to receive the truth with love and compassion. I share wisdom from my heart, with clarity and conviction. I visualize the dynamic dance of yin and yang within my human body. I trust in my internal compass, courageously stepping forward into my new moment.”
Kyanite is one of the few minerals in the world that never needs clearing. It does not accumulate or store any negative energies. It automatically and inherently aligns all the chakras without any intention or direction. Using kyanite to consciously direct energy results in alignment on all levels, including, but not limited to, emotional, etheric, physical, spiritual, mental and astral.
Kyanite is naturally gentle and balanced, positively bringing peace and calming to the beings and spaces blessed with its presence. Kyanite in its blue form, corresponding to the Throat Chakra, facilitates clear communication and ease in expressing one’s truth. As the words we speak bring thoughts into existence, blue kyanite teaches us to speak from the heart, our ultimate center of love, wisdom and compassion.
Kyanite helps to balance yin and yang energies in the body, bringing relief and restored movement to areas stagnant with energy blockages. While the underlying source of the blockage will need to be addressed for permanent elimination, kyanite will gently clear the way until healing is complete, bringing much comfort and hope, reminding us of our natural pure state, in optimal alignment.
In ancient times, travelers took kyanite with them when setting off onto new journeys into uncharted territory. Kyanite was believed to follow the Earth’s magnetic force, as a compass needle, when suspended in a human hair. Known to strengthen supernatural abilities and open our center and channel for communication, this amazing crystal will clearly point the way towards your true north and the path of your Highest Good.
Rough Amazonite
“I stand in my integrity, opening myself to higher truths and knowledge. I move beyond my fears of confrontation, speaking with confident and humble authority. I am living my truth, manifesting my gifts, dreams, and desires.”
Amazonite was named after the Amazon River in Brazil where important deposits are found. Amazonite jewelry goes back at least four thousand years. The seventh chapter of the Egyptian Book of the Dead was engraved on Amazonite. This crystal has an exciting and extensive history. It’s believed to have been a major stone in Moses’ breastplate and was used in Egypt, India, and South and Central America.
Amazonite supports the Throat Chakra to improve communication, helping you to open up more, find the right words when you need them, and speak from the heart. It is a stone that heals communication patterns in your life. And beyond aiding communication, it also absorbs and transmutes geomagnetic stress – the energies from our phones and computers we passively receive and absorb day in and day out. Use amazonite to speak clearly when giving presentations, to speak authentically during important conversations, and to absorb and transmute rough energies.
Soothing all chakras, amazonite brings harmony within and without. It is especially connected with the Heart and Throat Chakras, and the communication of love. It will help you manifest and hold the energy of Universal Love. The pure flow of love has the power to rejuvenate and nurture all life. Amazonite is well known as a truth stone and peacemaker, its properties efficacious internally and externally. When consciously activated, it will establish and maintain a strong connection between your head and heart; between reason and compassion.
By amplifying signs and signals into our consciousness, amazonite teaches us to listen to, feel and integrate all the components of ourselves. This crystal truly supports us as we stand our righteous ground and wield our sword of truth, magnifying our intentions, when motivated from the kindness and goodness of our hearts.
Labradorite
“I move with ease between realities and realms. I welcome support and assistance from my guides, ancestors, and angels with deep gratitude. I embrace the mystery of darkness, with new eyes to see every emerging facet of light.”
Labradorite is a magnificent stone of new beginnings, for cosmic and spiritual rebooting. If you need a do-over, or if you’re setting intentions in the darkness of the new moon, this is your gemstone ally. Like the Hermit in the Tarot, labradorite helps light the path, illuminating the night sky and helping you see your way through challenges.
Discovered in the year 1770, in Labrador (on the East Coast of Canada), Labradorite was used in healing potions by the Inuit people. They called it “fire stone” because of its mystical appearance and likened it to the Aurora Borealis. We call the magnificent shimmering light of labradorite “labradorescence”. Labradorescence colour display is generated by lamellar inter growths inside the crystal – light rays enter a layer of crystal and are refracted back and forth by deeper levels. This magic of light changes depending on the angle at which you hold the stone.
Labradorite awakens and enhances innate, intuitive, extrasensory capabilities, such as past-life recall, telepathy, astral travel, prophecy, and communication with guides and angels. In the same way this crystal itself reflects light in ever-surprising ways, it will illuminate your own depth and inner resources, sending out a vibrant metallic rainbow of hues that sparkle with mystery. Befriending labradorite will open your receptivity to divination, unseen realms, energy patterns, and visions. It is called a gemstone of magic, the magic of higher awareness.
Once you start working with labradorite, you’ll wonder how you ever did magical and spiritual work without it. If you’re ready to make change in your life, labradorite is your stone for rooting out those old patterns that hold you back from achieving all that you are meant to in this life.
Green Turquoise – Bonus Crystal
Turquoise is a strong stone of wholeness, known for balancing, harmonizing, and bringing peace. Green turquoise is rare and highly sought after by collectors, often acquired as an investment due to declining availability. This gemstone may go back further than any other, in its history of use. In both Hindu and Persian legends, seeing a new moon and turquoise at the same time was an omen of protection, good fortune, and wealth. We associate the new moon, the start of Luna’s cycle, with new intentions and wishes – the fertile ground of planted seeds, on the verge of emergence into the physical plane. And turquoise, for ages, has been known to vibrate with the energy of new beginnings.
Also potent with healing properties, turquoise is known to heal the emotional body and alleviate tension. As a stone of truth and communication, it has the capacity to assist the body in sending and receiving clear signals and exchanges. Wholeness is centered in the heart, and emanates from this point. Turquoise has a powerful effect on communication, making it ideal for “talking with” various parts of our beings, and bringing them together, aligned with the wisdom and compassion of the heart.
Trusted as a “healer of the spirit”, turquoise is your ally in times of change and challenge. Wholeness includes everything, and requires engaging in life experiences of all kinds. Turquoise will support you as you make choices and initiate action, especially when your equilibrium is temporarily thrown off balance, and when you stumble before finding sure footing. With its gentle, protective soothing of your soul, emotions, and physical body, you will have greater support in discovering your natural talents, path of joy, and in speaking your truth, from your heart.
