Finding a Matching Stone: Stones That Can Accent Personal Strengths or Balance Personal Weaknesses

Many stone and crystal lovers will say that stones call their owners. Others say the right time for a stone is when the heart is attracted to it. Nothing is wrong with these views, but in this article we will discuss a way to choose stones without having to take up lots of time experimenting to find the most suitable stones. And while it does ring true that a person might be most inclined towards stones that fit them upon first glance, we will discuss a couple of ways to choose stones using astrological lore, ones natal chart, and planetary archetypes. There is a tradition of specific stones being associated with specific planets. The stone amethyst is connected to Mars, the stone moonstone is connected to the Moon, the stone ruby is connected to the Sun, the stone malachite is connected to Venus, the stone quartz is connected to Jupiter, and the stone emerald is connected Mercury. There are a number of stones for each planet. This system, which is mentioned by various ancient authors, is part of the system of planetary correspondences. Opinions differ regarding the planetary correspondences, depending on the author. This system is important for choosing a stone from an astrological perspective, as it guides one to choose a stone once they decide the planets they will be working with. the steps one should take. There are a number of ways to use a natal chart to determine which planets and stones to work with. These ways include looking at strengths and weaknesses, working with different axes, the ruler of a couple of the most important points in a chart, and breaking down a chart and choosing a stone for a minor point, like a planet, a house, a minor dignity, two planets in aspect, and so forth. These are all considerations that can be used in choosing stones

First, we will look at strengths and weaknesses as deciding factors. To determine strengths and weaknesses, a person can analyze their life and also look at their natal chart. Either method can find shortcomings and they can be linked to the planetary archetypes. The first method is to use introspection to look at one’s own character. Then, after a number of characteristics are recognized, they can be identified with traits of the seven traditional planets. The other method is to use a mixture of one’s natal chart and personal observations to find the planets that are strong and weak. The overall condition of the planets in the natal chart should be looked at, and this should be done in the context of the overall chart. There are a lot of things to look for when looking to important points. These can include the almuten, well-placed planets with strong essential dignity, the ascendant ruler, and the tenth house ruler. Planets in the first or tenth house, conjunct the ascendant or midheaven can also be important. There are a lot of other factors, such as sect, essential dignity, dynamic strength, aspects, speed, motion, and phase. Planets that are direct in motion, on a pivot or succeedent house, are aspecting the ascendant, in sect, in a place with strong essential dignity, and that are aspecting the benefics should be favored. In looking at a chart, there will be a few candidates for strong planets and a few for weak ones. If most of the planets are average and similar in importance, then taking the chart ruler, the ascendant lord, or the midheaven ruler should suffice. There are many ways to determine which planets are strong and weak, and the chart should be correlated to life experience. In most cases, there will be at least one planet that dominates the chart and one planet that is found lacking and problematic. Once these have been determined, it is time to move on to the next step, focusing on either a strength or weakness. 

Once we have decided upon a planet that is strong and powerful in the chart, we can focus on accenting a strength with a corresponding stone. We can illustrate how to accent a strength with an example. A hypothetical native has a strong Moon. In their personal life, they have strong Moon characteristics. They are moody, caring, cute, and nurturing. In their natal chart, the Moon is the ruler of the nativity. Through analysis of both their personal life and how it corresponds to the natal chart, it was decided that the Moon is the strongest planet for the individual. Then the person chooses a stone that corresponds with the lunar archetype. The traditional and modern correspondences list stones such as pearl, moonstone, amber, and emerald. The individual, using gut instinct and feeling, goes with pearl to start out. After a pearl is obtained, as either part of a necklace, ring, or just a stone to carry in the person’s pocket, it is consecrated in a ritual to the Moon. The pearl is then carried or worn at opportune times that are designated by the individual. Likely, because the Moon is already strong with the person, the energy of the stone fits well. They feel comfortable, harmonious, and connected to the pearl. The individual uses the stone in an all-encompassing way. It impacts the mind, body, and spirit, as the individual uses it to improve and build upon their already strong connection with the Moon’s planetary archetype. In this case, the individual is using a stone associated with the Moon’s archetype, pearl, to accent their already strong connection with the planet. Though it may seem to be creating more imbalance in the person’s life, by working with the Moon, it does feel good to use it, and it carries over some of the more familiar energy to them as well. It should be noted that people might go through periods where certain planets are impacting them. In times like that, it might be nice to have a little dose of an archetype that is friendlier than the current one that may be a time lord or hitting them hard in their personal lives. Also, there is still plenty of work to do with those planets that we consider closest and strongest, even when we already have a powerful connection with them.   

Balancing by working on a weakness is an opposite tact that has a lot of value. In this situation, a person works on their connection to a planet and archetype they lack, find problematic, or are inexperienced with. Often, the desire to work with planets that are weak comes from a spirit of self-betterment, fear of the planet and its effects, or out of the wish to transform their life. In a hypothetical example, a native has a weakness with the planet Saturn. In their personal life, they have difficulty creating and keeping boundaries, don’t work well within structures, and have issues with people that are cold, uncaring, and serious. In their natal chart, it has been determined that the planet Saturn is in a bad place and has a hard aspect to a benefic. During time lord activations, Saturn periods have been the most challenging and full of hardship. The individual has decided to work on improving their relationship with Saturn, and as a result consults some resources to find a list of Saturn stones. Some of the stones the individual finds are black tourmaline, onyx, and obsidian. The person picks onyx based on a tarot divination and obtains the stone on a necklack. Then, the person wears the stone while consciously working with the planet Saturn in their lives. They do rituals, contemplation, meditation, and talisman creation. The person works with the Saturn archetype for a period, wearing the onyx necklace while also actively working on their understanding of Saturn, with a goal of self-improvement. In this situation, the goal is merely balance, and it is achieved by connection and understanding. The individual’s experience of the stone is not familiar, at least not at first. It doesn’t seem to fit, or even brings up bad associations in the first moments. But the individual quickly sees beyond that and starts to work on their relationship with the planet, with both conscious actions and unconscious connection. Soon, a familiar relationship is built with the stone. In the person’s daily life, it can help them to transform some of their personal relationships with others and have more sympathy with the Saturn archetype as it manifests in their daily lives. Wearing the stone might start to balance them, work on their weaknesses, and transform relationships and situations in unforeseen ways. Work with a stone can balance a person or strengthen the bond to a planet. It won’t feel as natural or personal as an archetype and planet that is a strong point, but the relationship can be improved, transformed, or otherwise affected, all of which can have a big impact on a person’s life in a myriad of ways.

Another tactic for working with stones is to use stones that correspond to important axes in a natal chart. These axes are the twelve astrology signs and their opposition signs based on domicile rulers. Some of the axes are the Mars-Venus axis, the Sun-Saturn axis, Moon-Saturn axis, and Jupiter-Mercury axis. Additional types of either related or oppositional forces are the Sun-Moon and Jupiter-Saturn. Different then working with strengths or weaknesses, there might be some overlap nonetheless when working with certain planet combinations. A person might strengthen Venus and balance Saturn, while such a combination from an axial perspective would seem less orthodox. The axis that a person works with should be related to current transits or to important planets in the chart. If someone connects well with Venus and Mars they might want to work with that axis because they want to gain new understandings of it, its easy to work with throughout the day, its feels comfortable, or it helps them to function better. and wants to work more with that axis for There are a number of reasons to choose an axis. The same person, at a different period, may be focused on self-improvement. They might choose to work with the Sun-Saturn axis as the Saturn archetype eludes them and they aren’t particularly solar. In such a case, they might have entirely different motivations to work with a certain axis at a given time, based on their own knowledge of their life and how it connects to their personal natal chart. Using the thinking that goes with a system of antipathy, one might choose to work with the axis that the almuten or chart ruler relates to, in order to work on both their strength and the oppositional planet most aligned with it, regardless of it being a personal strength or weakness. Working with various axes based on the signs or other types of symbolism is a possible avenue for choosing stones.

Once the favorable and unfavorable planets have been determined and the model for connecting them to stones has been chosen, there is the step of picking a stone directly. For this step, there are numerous resources online as well as in traditional literature, such as the Picatrix, Three Books on Occult Philosophy, historical literature by authorities like Albertus Magnus, astrological texts, and of course, lapidaries. Each planet corresponds to a few stones, and there are differing planets assigned to the same stones by different authorities. For this step, one should do the research and pick a stone based on intuition and feel. Experimentation is important in the process, and picking the right stone for a certain planet, goal, and period is a very subjective thing. It is idiosyncratic in nature and require input, adjustments, and experience.  

It should be added that experimentation is crucially important to finding what stone is best for a given time. The experience of a stone, as it is carried on a person throughout the day, is invaluable. When working with stones, both experimentation and the experience that comes from it are necessary for choosing an appropriate stone. 

 

 

 

 

Photo Credits

1. A piece of amethyst. Photo by Rob Lavinsky, irocks.com.
2. A piece of chalcedony. Photo by Midjourney. Prompt: chalcedony. Username: @david.k9