Adularescence. An optical phenomenon, similar to labradorescence and aventurescence, produced most notably by moonstones.
Akashic Record. A metaphysical record of the history of the cosmos, which includes everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present moment, and all potential future realities.
Angels. Luminous beings—neither masculine nor feminine—that act as Divine messengers. There are many types of angels, including Archangels, guardian angels, seraphim, cherubim, and many more. They act and react based on thoughtforms (mental energy) and their charges’ specific requests. Because humans have free will, angels need to be asked to assist us or intervene on our behalf.
Animal medicine. The healing aspects that a particular animal provides in order to bring something to your awareness. By understanding the messages and mannerisms of various animals whose energy enters your life either physically or mentally, you can make necessary adjustments in how you perceive yourself and reality. This concept is associated with Native American spirituality and the spirituality of many indigenous tribes around the world.
Animal totems (power animals). The essence of animal energy that aids you in your everyday life. Similar to spirit guides, animal totems energetically travel with you to enhance your efforts in your spiritual pursuits and practices such as shamanic journeywork to find answers for self-improvement. This concept is associated with Native American spirituality and the spirituality of many indigenous tribes around the world.
Anhydrous. A crystalline compound containing no water.
Aromatherapy. A form of alternative medicine that uses volatile plant oils, including essential oils and other aromatic compounds, for psychological and physical well-being. It is always best to use 100-percent pure therapeutic-quality, or medical-grade, aromatherapy products.
Ascended Master. A spiritually enlightened being who has incarnated as a human being in a past life or many past lives, such as St. Germain, Sanat Kumara, Kuthumi, Kuan Yin, Isis, or Walt Disney, to name a few. Through the process of spiritual transformation, these beings are believed to have ascended and are therefore directly connected to Universal wisdom and knowledge.
Automatic writing. A form of writing in which the writer allows channeled messages to flow through him or her. After stating intention, prayer, and protection, the recipient allows spirit to provide information and messages from the Other Side, angels, and Ascended Masters. It is advisable for the recipient to discern what level of entity is permitted to write through them in this manner.
Botryoidal. Having a shape reminiscent of a cluster of grapes.
Cabachon. A cabochon or cabachon, from the Middle French caboche (head), is a gemstone which has been shaped and polished as opposed to faceted, usually a convex top with a flat bottom.
Carbonaceous. A rock or sediment consisting of or containing carbon or carbon compounds.
Chakra. A Sanskrit word for “wheel” or “vortex.” The seven main chakras, or energy centers, that make up your body begin at the base of the spine with the root chakra and end at the head with the crown chakra—and all of them are energetically connected. When one or more of your chakras becomes blocked or out of alignment, it affects your mental state or your emotional balance. It can also affect you spiritually. Eventually, the blockage presents itself on the physical level with imbalance or some health condition that seems to show up out of nowhere. Read my book Chakra Awakening, for a deep understanding of the chakras.
Chatoyant. Showing a band of bright reflected light caused by aligned inclusions in the stone.
Clairaudience. The ability to receive messages or guidance through intuitive hearing or sound that has not been produced by physical sound waves. The voice within is the connection to the higher self and to one’s guides and angels.
Claircognizance. The ability to know something intuitively.
Clairgustation. The intuitive ability to recognize a taste in the mouth that provides insight into a matter at hand. Medical intuitives often use this sensory gift to identify their clients’ physical challenges.
Clairolfaction. The ability to intuitively pick up a smell that doesn’t physically exist as scent particle, which provides some sort of guidance or clue into a situation at hand.
Clairsentience. The ability to clearly sense, or feel, and therefore know.
Clairvoyance. The ability to receive intuitive messages through visions in the mind’s eye, including dreams and daydreams, through the vibration or energy of spiritual sight. This vibration resides primarily at the third eye.
Consciousness. A term used to explain awareness in relationship to oneself and the surrounding world and inside world. It is compilation of one’s belief systems and thoughts that are part of the natural thinking process. The foundations of consciousness are established early in life, yet can be realigned and changed with intent. Other terms associated with consciousness are mindfulness, wakefulness, sense of self, perceptions of reality, and philosophical outlook.
Crystal alignment. The use of crystals placed on an around the body to clear, balance, and align the chakras. It usually includes a guided-imagery meditation in which the participant is instructed to envision the results he or she is seeking.
Crystal grid. The use of gemstone in geometric formations placed in or around a person, place, or thing to achieve the formed intention. Crystal grids can be combined with crystal alignments with larger groups of people at sacred sites.
Dendritic. Having a branched form or resembling a tree.
Devic forces. See Elemental spirits.
Divine Feminine. The universal mother, or Great Mother, represented by any and all of the following: the Goddess, Gaia, Isis, Mary Magdalene, Mother Mary, Lady Nada, Kuan Yin, the Asteroid Goddesses as they are represented from an astrological viewpoint (Pallas Athena, Juno, Vesta, and Ceres), and many others. The Divine Feminine represents the state of receptivity and being-ness.
Divine Masculine. The universal father, represented by any and all of the following: God, Mikael, Christ, Chiron, and many others. All represent the energy of doing, taking action, moving forward. This is the energy of the protector and the provider. The universal father loves us, provides shelter, and safety and watches over us in a state of action.
Druzy. Also known as drusy or druse which is a rock encrusted with aggregates small crystals.
Elemental spirits. A force in nature or energy, with or without intelligence, are related to the four elements—earth, air, fire, and water. Names given to these forces include gnomes, and dwarves to represent earth; sylphs to represent air; salamanders to represent fire; and undines, nymphs, and mercreatures to represent water.
Essential oils. The oils and other constituents of distilled organic compounds, such as plant hormones, vitamins, and phytochemicals, which can be used in a carrier oil to be applied to the skin for rebalancing the physical, mental and emotional bodies.
Feminine Christ. The energy associated with the female gender of Christ Consciousness or the Divine Feminine. Often used interchangeably with Kuan Yin, Isis, and even Mary Magdalene, who is believed to have been the wife of Jesus the Christ
Gemstone guardians. Elemental spirits connected with the gemstone kingdom, such as fairies, gnomes, and other devic forces. The guardians are associated with the structure and energy of rocks.
Hexagonal Crystal System. Any mineral that has four axes. Three are equal in length and lie at an angle of 120° from each other. The fourth is either longer or shorter but must be at a right angle toward the other corners.
Igneous. Relates to a rock that solidified from lava or magma.
Inclusion. A liquid, solid, gaseous or other type of foreign body enclosed within a mineral or rock.
Labyrinth. A maze with a single path to the center and back. This type of maze symbolizes our ability to learn things about ourselves that bring us within and then back out again with answers and a new personal truth. Walking a labyrinth can be a spiritual, meditative, and contemplative process.
Medicine wheel. A teaching tool in the shape of a wheel that contains thirty-six positions, each one providing a story and connection with the many cycles of life that we spiral through daily, monthly, yearly, and throughout a lifetime. The teachings of the medicine wheel provides a map to understanding all life.
Meditation. A practice of quieting the mind. It’s called a practice because it takes practice with every moment of the experience to stay focused on nothing. There are various forms of meditation using guided imagery to enable the practitioner to focus on calming thoughts to attain higher states of awareness. A goal of meditation is often geared toward attaining compassion and understanding.
Metamorphic. A rock that has undergone transformation by heat, pressure, or other natural means.
Metaphysical. Beyond the physical. This concept encompasses what the physical and scientific world cannot define yet clearly exists. Many of the principles and discussions within this book are metaphysical.
Microcrystalline. A material formed of microscopic crystals.
Mohs scale of mineral hardness. A scale that measures the scratch resistance of minerals, gemstones, and rocks, created by the German geologist and mineralogist Friedrich Mohs in 1812.
Monkey mind. A Buddhist term and animal metaphor used to express that the mind is restless, chattering, unsettled, confused, and difficult to control.
Monoclinic. Of or denoting a crystal system or three-dimensional geometric arrangement having three unequal axes of which one is at right angles to the other two.
Nagual. A shape shifter or trickster who can magically turn into an animal, commonly a jaguar. Nagualism is associated with pre-Columbian shamanism. In this belief system, all humans have an animal counterpart.
Nature spirits. Devic forces associated with the trees, plants, rocks, streams, mountains, ocean, rivers, deserts, and all of nature. Words used to represent these forces include gnomes, elves, salamanders, fairies, and undines. While they are unseen, for the most part, they are quite real and have many followers around the planet.
Negative ions. Odorless, tasteless, and invisible molecules that create positive vibrations. Negative ions are believed to produce biochemical reactions that increase levels of the mood chemical serotonin, helping to alleviate depression, relieve stress, and boost daytime energy. There is an abundance of negative ions in forests and mountains, at beaches and waterfalls, and after a thunderstorm or rainstorm.
Nodule. A small, rounded lump of a mineral or mixture of minerals that is distinct from and usually harder than the surrounding rock or sediment. Nodules often form by replacement of a small part of the rocks in which they form.
No mind. The complete absence of thought.
Oligoclase. A feldspar mineral common in siliceous igneous rocks, consisting of a sodium-rich plagioclase (with more calcium than albite).
Oracle. A person, place, or thing through which advice or prophecy is given.
Orthorhombic. Of or denoting a crystal system or three-dimensional geometric arrangement having three unequal axes at right angles.
Orthoclase. A white to pale yellow, red, or green mineral of the feldspar group, found in igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.
Pagan. Someone who has a spiritual or religious practice or belief that honors or worships deities found in pre-Christian, classical, aboriginal, or tribal mythology. Pagan practices include shamanism, shamanic practices and/or magical rituals Their spiritual attention is primarily on the Divine Feminine and on earth-based spirituality.
Plagioclase. A form of feldspar consisting of aluminosilicates of sodium and/or calcium, common in igneous rocks and typically white.
Pleocroism. The phenomenon of different colors appearing when certain crystals are viewed from different directions.
Polymorph. An organism or inorganic object that takes various forms.
Prismatic. Relating to or resembling a prism formed by refraction of light through a prism, exhibiting bright spectral colors.
Pseudomorph. A mineral completely replaces another and retains the same out shape of the replaced mineral.
Rainbow body. A physical mastery state of Dzogchen, which is the natural state of the mind as well as a body of teachings and meditation practices aimed at achieving that state. It is the central teaching of the Nyingma school practices by Tibetan Buddhist sects.
Rainbow bridge. The bridge that carries departed ones to the Other Side upon passing from this physical life.
Rebirthing (aka Rebirthing Breathwork). A tool for healing, personal growth, and spiritual awakening. Through the use of conscious breath, it helps you uncover emotions and belief systems stored in your consciousness. Though officially created by Leonard Orr in 1974, this circular breathing rhythm practices has been used in yogic practices for centuries.
Rhombohedral system. In the trigonal crystal system is one of the seven crystal systems, and the rhombohedral lattice system is one of the seven lattice systems.
Schiller. A lustrous colored reflection from certain planes in a mineral grain.
Self-actualization. The realization of one’s ultimate true potential. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory brought this concept to full prominence.
Self-observation. A tool to awaken one’s conscious awareness, which when activated, can help one more effectively use the power of his or her thoughts to create reality. Self-observation is the intentional act of observing one’s own behaviors, reactions, and actions as an interested, objective observer—that is, without judgment.
Shamanic journeywork. A journey to the center of one’s self achieved in various ways. Many shamanic journey practitioners use drumming, at the rate of the heartbeat, to induce a trance-like state. In this state, the practitioner usually connects with either the subconscious (the lower word) or the super-conscious (the upper world) to find answers, understand, and healing. Some shamanic journeywork incorporates the use of power animals or animal totems as an ally or guide during the journey.
Shamanism. A path to understanding various rituals and ceremonies, typically involving the four elements or four directions, to transform oneself in body, mind, and spirit.
Spirit guides. Disincarnate beings who exist in another dimensional reality. These guides become allies when we consciously choose to invite them into our spiritual circle of consciousness. It is important to choose your spirit guides wisely, just as you choose your friends wisely.
Stalagmitic. An adjective referring to a cone-shaped, secondary mineral deposit built up on the floor of a cave by dripping water, often from a stalactite above.
Stalactitic. An adjective referring to the form of an icicle-shaped mineral deposit, usually calcite or aragonite, hanging from the roof of a cavern, formed from the dripping of mineral-rich water.
Tabular. A crystal that forms in the shape of a tablet. In quartz crystals, two of the six sides are much wider than the other four.
Telepathy. Communication without the use of the spoken word; a form of mental energy used for mind-to-mind and heart-to-heart communication.
Termination. Referring to the point on the end of a crystal.
Tetragonal. Of or denoting a crystal system or three-dimensional geometric arrangement having three axes at right angles, two of them equal.
Trigonal. Of or denoting a crystal system or three-dimensional geometric arrangement having three equal axes separated by equal angles that are not right angles. Triangular.
Thoughtforms. Mental energy.
Word patrol. The practice of employing awareness when speaking or thinking so that one’s words and thoughts create a desired reality rather than an unwanted situation. For example, when employing word patrol, one would say, “I’m hungry,” rather than saying, “I’m starving” to avoid creating a reality in which the body goes into starvation mode and begins to store fat.