"I am very curious about your use of the stones with the card spreads that you have shared. I am sure this is something that would take time to understand, but if you could share some of the process I am very interested in learning about it . . . such as which stones you are using, their significance, how you came to select them and how they are cast with the cards. (Dawn, California)"Many thanks for raising the subject of the Crystal Castings in the Daily Merlin Insights. I've briefly touched on the black pouch, which houses the many crystal fragments which I use in connection with the Crystal Castings, in previous posts. Basically, the black pouch represents the 'subconscious' ... and by reaching into the black pouch it is symbolic of delving into the deep subconscious to pull out some information which is lurking there.
Many of the crystals themselves have been under my custodianship for decades; whilst others are fairly recent purchases. I do not own the crystals. They are a living consciousness just as much as I am. I merely look after them until the next custodian comes along.
Each and every crystal fragment is unique. Their colour, their shape and their overall vibration determines the 'meaning' of the crystal. Pink for example associates with family or with children; black with that which still is not to be revealed; white is trust; green relates to matters of the heart or love; blue relates to communications; fragments of granite relate to health issues; Hematite with blood. I have my own subconscious description for each and every stone or crystal I use. There is also a stone with the shape of an embryo on it; one with the pattern of a spider within it ...
I usually choose the crystals by delving deep into the pouch with my left hand and permitting my left hand to move around the crystals within the pouch. Instinct will then determine how many or how few crystals I am going to pick in the casting. I permit my left hand to grab the crystals and then pull them out of the pouch slowly. At this point I permit my mind to be completely empty of any pre conceptions with regard to the theme of the crystals.
Then carefully I place my left hand about 5 - 7 inches from the table and let the crystals fall out of my hand one by one ... the crystals will then create a pattern based on how they fall onto the table ...based on their interactions when often more than one crystal will fall at the same time. I place my hand directly above the central card in the tarot working .... so when the crystals fall they first make contact with the central card which is more often and not the theme of the entire working ...
The pattern of the crystals fallen is then meditated briefly upon and the 'basic' story the pattern makes is intuited in my mind. More often than not I omit to feature these first impressions in Daily Merlin Insights ... as the crystal casting pattern making is used as a background to the Tarot images in the working. But sometimes I will give an indication of the basic structure of what the crystals are saying to me ...
Sometime in the future I intend to carry out a Daily Merlin Insight with just the crystals themselves as the divination aid.
With regard to the crystal castings I practice ... there is no hard and fast rule to what is wrong or what is right. It is basically just another means of the usage of a key to access the deep subconscious. Another means for the deep subconscious to provide an insight into its symbolism. This form of divination may not be for everyone ... but it does work for me. I've had several 'human guinea pigs' over the years who have been unwitting victims of experimentation who've experienced first hand the sublime accuracy of using crystals in this way ....
