Hi there, Everyone. I have an admission to say. I am a rockhound. Ha, now you can stop thinking I am talking about marijuana. Ok, those of you who know me will know this fact. My dad was one (not a “stoner,” but a rock lover), and in the last 20 years, I have taken my love further. One of my first adventures in rock hounding was near Hot Springs, Arkansas. I was around 8 or 9 years old and we visited one of the open mines to dig for quartz. Our hands were scraped up after a day of it, but it was fun to see the crystals that we found.
Most people will laugh when I say that stones have energy. I am a firm believer that everything in life has energy, from plants, the air, stones, and more. Is my Celtic paganism showing? That’s ok, 20 years ago I would have laughed as well. It is amazing what we learn and adapt in our lives as we get older. For centuries, stones have been used for many purposes, from treatments for medical and emotional purposes, to magnetic and conductive properties, to decoration, from tools and as well as furnishings. One of my favorite stones is lepidolite. It comes from the same area that lithium is found. Lithium was used for many years to calm people. Lepidolite has similar properties, though it is not for ingesting. Personally, I think we need to hand out this stone to everyone, to calm and relax everyone. You might notice when I talk about some of my favorite stones, most of them are purple. If not purple, then I love the banded stones such as Botswana agate and malachite. I have heard over and over from people that they are drawn to certain stones. That is their body and mind saying that they need the particular stone’s energy.
Ok, now having said that, I must admit that I was shocked to learn of the many types of precious and semiprecious stones which have been found in the UK, not to mention the stones used to create dwellings and use for tools.
One stone that can be found in England is jet, which is a black stone that is actually fossilized driftwood. This stone was important to Queen Victoria. After Prince Albert died, the queen wore jewelry made of jet in remembrance of him.
My favorite type of quartz, smoky quartz, can be found in Scotland. Smoky quartz is used in Chakra balancing and reiki treatments, as it aids in grounding a person and eliminating negative energy. I keep it all over in my house and my car.
In Northern Ireland, hematite, ruby, sapphire, calcite, opal, quartz, and aquamarine have all been found. Most people might not be aware, but there are multiple types of each of this stones. Quartz has multiple varieties; clear quartz, rose, smoky, phantom, and more. Like with animals, there are quartz, there are other off shoots, such as chalcedony and agates. Then you have stones that are often found side by side with quartz, such as amethyst and tourmaline. I love clear quartz with rods of black tourmaline running through it. Hematite has a few, black, rainbow, magnetic. There are dozens of types of opals, a few varieties of rubies and sapphires.
Who needs to go to an island to find amber to bring back extinct dinosaurs? There has been amber found around the beaches of Suffolk and where the Baltic Sea is now. Blue topaz, jaspers, garnets, and even a few diamonds
In Wales, gold has been found, some of which has been made into jewelry for the royal family, including the wedding ring worn by the current Duchess of Wales, Kate Middleton.
Pearls have been found in some rivers in the UK, including in Scotland. Sounds like a weird place to find pearls, but it is believed that they were part of the reason Julius Caesar invaded England. Pearls in the UK are rare and the pearl mussels are protected, so if you find any, leave them alone.
Granite, limestone, and slate are also found in the UK, with slate being most common in Wales. Marble and prehnite are also found in Scotland.
In English counties of Cornwall and Devon, they have found turquoise and serpentine (the family of jade). Amethyst and types of agates have also been found in England. In Derbyshire, silver has been found.
Now, my favorite stone of all is unique to Derbyshire. It is called Blue John Fluorite. I fell in love with the stone years ago, and have some with me almost all the time. It was used in jewelry, in decorative pieces of decoration, such as lamps, bowls, urns, and more. I wear a ring with the stone being Blue John Fluorite. It is the ring I wore on the cover of The Derbyshire Mystery Stone, and there is a palm sized piece of raw Blue John on the cover as well. There are two reasons I love the stone. First, of course, it comes from Derbyshire. As I doubt I will ever be able to go to England, for me it is the closest I will ever come to being there. It is my piece of Pemberley. Another reason I love the stone is that it is supposed to promote creativity. I enjoy having some of the stone near me as I write. I know, you probably think I am crazy, and I am in many ways. But it feels as if I am writing my stories from Pemberley. Ok, let a girl (or old lady) have her fun and dreams.
I found it interesting to learn of how many different types of stones are located in the UK, as I had never heard of things like opals and pearls, not to mention diamonds, being in such areas. Amber being found on the beach is interesting, but I do have some Baltic amber in collection of stones I use in making jewelry. Personally I have over 40 different types of stones with which I work.
The photos of the box with stones is part of my personal collection. I have a LOT more than these. When my daughter goes anywhere, she brings me back some stones she had found. That to me is priceless.
Hope this was informational and enlightening. Perhaps it will spark a flame of rock hounding in you as well. May you all get stoned.
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