Crystals and Tarot

CRYSTALS and TAROT

Crystals & Tarot

by Patricia Croteau

Ever look at those long lists of Tarot Correspondences and wonder if anybody actually uses them? Well, here is a use for those gemstone/crystal attributions.

Like many Pagans, I have a bit of a jackdaw propensity for shiny rocks. Starting at age 6 with white rocks from the driveway, I’ve gathered a largish collection. The first inkling of the idea to make them useful was sitting with an aquamarine stone that fell out of a necklace and thinking how much its cool, clear, blue energy was like that of the High Priestess in the Tarot. I did the same with a piece of moldavite which has high, remote ethereal energy much like the Star. Then Thalassa suggested "You’ve been noodling around with this for ages. Why not develop it properly and present it at Divination Fest?"

The next step was a book called "Divination with Crystals & Precious Stones" by Ursula Markham. She was given a large box of crystals, mostly agates and jaspers. She assigned each one particular meanings based on her meditations with the various stones and then used them as a counseling tool. Her book gives examples of relationship, general and career counseling that she did, using her system.

A look at the historical attributions of stones and cards by the Golden Dawn and Aleister Crowley showed they were different for each group and seemed rather subjective. And many of the stones assigned were beyond the financial reach of the average tarotist. Newer crystal books showed considerable variation in stone meanings and assignment to cards.

Swiping some meanings from Ursula and coming up with others on my own, I assigned many stones to aspects of the Tarot Major Arcana. What I actually did was sit down with each stone and see what feelings came from it. The Tarot meanings used are from my primary working deck, the Universal Waite.

Lepidolite came to be assigned to the Fool because I heard it giggling. But what can you expect from a stone that looks like a slightly used piece of grape candy? Other stones were not as direct, so I held the stone and looked through a couple of the more sensible crystal books til I found something that rang true to me. I did mostly one stone a day, keeping it by me most of the day, carrying it around in my pocket, leaving it on my desk at work. I didn’t use the astrological assignations to the stones or the colors a whole lot. Astrology is not my area of expertise and I felt it was just another layer between the stones and the cards. And colour is not the sum of a stone’s energy.

. A couple of cards ended up with several stones attributed to each, representing different aspects. For example, the Star ended up with sugilite for healing from depression and resentment and moldavite for its aspiration, reaching outward kind of energy. The Magician received garnet for its fierce "I will" energy and clear quartz for focus and clarity.

So I’ve started using them as a real crystal tarot, pulling one or more for a question, using any simple Tarot spread. I’ve also begun working with having a person choose stones and place them on the cloth, using the 4 Directions/Elements to interpret the position, i.e. a stone placed in the "West" quadrant of cloth would have something to do with the person’s emotional life, in the North with their body or physical circumstances, etc.

For example:

Ametrine with its blending of physical & spiritual energies – Lovers

Apache Tear – transformation – Death

Larimar – joy, ocean visions, - The World

If you placed the ametrine in the Northern quarter, your relationship would be affecting your health or your job. In the West, your relationship would be affecting your emotions. Other stones nearby would tell whether this was good or bad. Or viewing the above three stones as a Past/Present/Future reading, you’re presently going through a transformation, due to bringing your physical and spiritual sides together. This transformation will bring you a state of pure joy.

Stone attributions for the Minors are next. does the pattern of the layout hold meaning, whether the client lays out the stones in a straight line or a circle, etc. This is all work in progress. I hope some of you will join me in a new way to relate to crystals and tarot.

Stone	Meaning	Tarot Card
Lepidolite Herkimer Diamond	New beginnings Dream stone	Fool - Journey, trust in the Universe, new beginning, foolishness
Garnet Quartz	fierce energy, heart of fire, "I will" Quartz – focus, clarity of intent	Magician - Consciousness, Conscious mind, communication, trickster, looks to the outside world
Aquamarine Lapis	Cool, ethereal inward looking energy Hidden factors/emotions come to light	High Priestess - Intuition, inner knowledge, secrets, looks to the inner world
Emerald Rose Quartz	Emerald – prosperity, abundance, creativity Rose Quartz – unconditional love	Empress - Fertility, nurturance, mother issues, female sexuality, looking at the world as web of relationships,
Carnelian	Being in the present, decision making	Emperor - Structure, order, rules, father issues, looking at the world as law-oriented
Turquoise	Peace, calm, protection ; bridge between heaven and earth, creates bridges and connections	Hierophant - Librarian, keeper of knowledge, tradition conventional way, rigid, hierarchical,
Ametrine Blue topaz	Combines physical 3^rd chakra citrine with 6/7 chakra spiritual amethyst Blue topaz - happiness	Lovers - Relationship, love, choices, infatuation
Tiger eye	Independence	Chariot - Motion, moving forward, balancing opposing forces to work together, yang kind of strength
Citrine	3^rd chakra issues of personal power and control. Changes, digesting and assimilating the events of life and dissolving old beliefs.	Strength - Discipline, Disciplined strength like that of a dancer or martial artist, harnessing the animal self, yin strength
Peridot	Bright, friendly, protective fire, the light in the Hermit’s lantern, you see the inner workings of what’s happening and start to recognize the same old patterns	Hermit - Integrity, Personal integrity, finding one’s own way, self-knowledge
Jade	Jade – luck, wealth	Wheel of Fortune - Cycles, ups & downs of life, cycles & patterns
Petrified wood	Legal matters	Justice - Evaluation, balance, Karmic law, fairness,
Green calcite iolite	Seeing things in new ways Attaining higher consciousness	Hanged Man - Sacrifice, Suspension, looking at life from a new viewpoint, states of altered consciousness
Apache tear	Transformation	Death - Transformation, inevitable changes
Amethyst Sardonyx	Reaching toward the spirit Balancing energies	Temperance - Balance, cooperation, blending
Hematite Pyrite Charoite	Setting boundaries Things are not what they seem Facing your fears	Devil - Shadow self, materialism
Obsidian	Truth, confronting one’s truth	Tower - Enlightenment, wake-up call, explosion of false self
Moldavite	Cool spacey energy, touching the larger intelligence	Star - Renewal, healing , education, hope
Amber	Confidence, warmth	Sun - Confidence, re-integration
Moonstone Labradorite	Female cycles Water journey	Moon - Dream, illusion, female cycles, navigating the unconscious
Malachite Hawkseye	Transformation, spiritual evolution Taking the long view, getting distance and perspective	Judgement - Re-Evaluation, summing up, seeing the consequences of your actions
Larimar Unakite	Pure joy Moving to the next level	World - Accomplishment, getting ready to move to next project

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Answers happily provided! Email our Web Goddess! If you’d like to link to our site, please drop us a note so we can acknowledge you!

PRIVACY NOTICE: We do not collect any personal information from you while you are browsing our website. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.