My Favourite Crystals #1
I’m kickstarting this personal series in which I’ll be discussing some of my favourite stones, with Lapis Lauzuli. And I thought who better to present a few of my Lapis crystals than my dog, Lulu, who is easily as elegant as the stones themselves.
This deep blue rock has gained near mythical status over the millennia. For me, personally, that’s because to look into the stone is to feel as if you’re looking at the world itself from a great height. As if you were up in space looking back on our planet at its most peaceful and serene. Lapis Lazuli puts me in mind of those endless loops whereby we start out in space then zoom in closer and closer and closer to earth, moving through space, then the atmospheres and through the clouds. Never quite reaching the point of the skylines and ground level, but rather staying up in the ether away from the world of work and grind and responsibilities.
At other times, I can look at the stones and be positive that I’m not staring into the world at all, but rather at the entire universe, and the infinite number of undiscovered universes that lie beyond ours.
Properties of Lapis Lazuli
The intensity of the blue varies from stone to stone, the white calcite streaks reminding me of clouds floating through the world, happily and unhurriedly on their way to only-they-know. The pyrite flecks too add a richness and weightiness we associate with gold, and it is this mix of calcite and pyrite, the clouds and the richness, which for me represents freedom and mysticism - two things humans have long been fascinated by because they allow us to let our imaginations run wild.
Lapis is a stone of self-awareness, honesty and discovering (and uncovering) inner truths. It is a very self-reflective stone, one which also concerns itself with the flipside of self-reflection, which is self-expression. Lapis Lazuli encourages and enables clear communication thanks to its association with the throat and third eye chakras, which relate to speaking your truth and spiritual insight, respectively.
Lapis is also associated with reducing stress, emotional balance and creativity.
Lapis Lazuli in your everyday life
Lapis Lazuli is a stone that can help you explore the richness of your inner life. Its depths inspire you to plumb your own depths, the dark ocean blue hue encouraging you to dive deep into your own personal oceans too, whispering quietly and confidently that you’ll never know if you don’t try.
The crystal is ideal for helping you to sort through and compartmentalise any complicated thoughts and feelings you need to express but haven’t yet managed to put into words. When it comes to work, it can help to have a stone nearby when you have important matters to communicate, such as a presentation or speech.
Those white streaks which so remind me of clouds are a constant inspiration to let your mind wander as freely as a cirrus or cumulus, while the richness of the gold pyrite adds an earthiness, reminding you that what you may think is pie-in-the-sky is achievable back down on earth once you set yourself on the path to action.