Summer may be winding down but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the rest of the season stoned in style. After all there are myriad reasons to get stoned; whether that’s to help find some much needed solace after a long day, to help with pain management, for anxiety, or just because it feels good. And there are just as many reasons to work with gemstones, also known as crystals or minerals.
Crystals come from deep in the core of the earth, taking thousands of years to form, and with this they carry the messages of this element. These healing crystals aren’t only striking and beautiful to look at, but they can also help us tap into, balance and work with the different energy centers of our bodies, known as chakras in yogic practice. Crystals can help us heal, release, manifest, banish, or whatever else we need in the moment; much like cannabis can.
So, what happens when you combine getting stoned with stones? What happens when you put the spiritual in stoner? Well, you have a delicious and juicy ritual that can help make your next smoke session even more mystical.
After the bright and shining intensity of Leo Season, aka the peak of our hot, stoned, spiritual summer, we are greeted with Virgo season. While Leo, the lion, was all about claiming our voice and the power that comes along with this, Virgo season, represented by the Virgin or Maiden, speaks of what it means for us to be whole unto ourselves. Virgo is often slated as a perfectionist with analytical tendencies, but the truth is this is the energy of the balance of the grounded and active masculine and the expansive and receptive feminine. With their roots firmly in the ground, Virgo can lead us into exploring all aspects of what makes us us, and thankfully we can work with crystals and cannabis to integrate these facets of who we are.
To help get the lowdown on what stones would be the most beneficial to get stoned with for Virgo season, I talked to Virgo Queen, artist, alchemist and creatrix of crystal pipes, Jennifer Joseph. She shares some key crystals and practices we can use to own this rooted earth sign energy, to get the most connected to our higher self as possible.
To Begin: Pick Your Crystal
The first step in getting stoned with some stones is to actually pick a stone. Use the guide below, your intuition or whatever stones you already have to begin. If you can’t physically get your paws on a crystal, try looking up photos of the stone you want to work with, and then try meditating with them in your mind’s eye, visualizing yourself holding and working with these stones to tap into their energetic properties.
To Know Your Worth and Value- Rose Quartz
A deeply calming and nurturing stone, Rose Quartz comes in shades of soft pink, and acts as the mother and doorway of the heart. During Virgo season, we’re both in the realm of the body (since it’s an Earth sign) and the mind, since Virgo is ruled by Mercury, the planet who rules over communication, higher knowledge, and travel. This can be a season when we’re starting new projects, making new commitments, taking new classes, and expanding and growing. Unfortunately, that can mean we become our toughest critics, letting imposter syndrome stand in the way from our greatness. Rose Quartz can help us overcome this, and tap back into the energy of self-love.
“Self-love is the openness and acceptance of the fullness of where you are right now. That acceptance is self-love in practice. Rose quartz is the ultimate in terms of opening ourselves us up to the dimension of of allowing who we truly are to be there,” Jennifer explains. “When we truly love ourselves, we see the value we have to offer others. We see our worth and start acting in alignment with that.”
If you’re struggling with being okay where you are, and if you feel like your heart center could use some energetic TLC, then try working with this stone to help keep your heart tender and open.
To Help Dispel Fear Around Taking Action and Evolving: Onyx and Obsidian
A lot of fear can arise before we go through moments of transformation; our ego wants us to play small, stay comfortable, to continue doing what we know. But this isn’t any way for us to grow, especially during Virgo season! Thankfully, working with black stones like onyx and obsidian can help us release this fear and the self-imposed blocks we’ve created for ourselves to stay comfortable.
“We don’t properly know how to take action that we are confident in. A lot of times we want to prove something, and obsidian and onyx can help us bust through that. They can help reveal where we’re triggered in those areas, so we can start moving through that and claim back our vital energy, which is started in the root chakra [the energy center at the base of the spine]” Jennifer explains. “But if you have issues with security you can’t move forward. That’s why I love these black crystals to keep us aware of what’s in our shadow and what’s keeping us from movement.”
If you’re going through life changes but don’t necessarily have the trust needed to really see things from a positive perspective, try holding and meditating with these black crystals. Besides grounding you in the present, they can help distill fear while you’re on this new path of growth.
To Actually Take That Action: Red Jasper and Carnelian
Blood red, that symbolizes the power of creative action and forward movement, stones like Red Jasper and Carnelian are associated with the lower chakras, the energy centers that rule over sexuality, confidence, our ability to create, and our ability to put plans in motion. These crystals can help you actually break through blocks so you can create changes organically and purposefully; these are invigorating stones that add an energy of fire to our life.
“They stimulate the more active principles in our root chakra and really get vital energy pumping and flowing,” Jennifer says. If you’re looking to begin on a new adventure this Virgo season, these stones can help you have the confidence to not only start on this path but also believe in the unfolding of it.
To Balance All Parts of Yourself: Fluorite
Regardless of your gender identity, we all have masculine, feminine, active, and receptive, sides of who we are. These pieces of who we are can come out of balance (like anything else), especially during a season like Virgo season, when we’re being asked to step into a new way of being and act authentically with these dual sides of our nature.
By balancing both sides of the brain, which reflect the receptive/ active parts of who we are are, fluorite helps us step more confidently into our roles as creators of our universe. If Virgo season has left you feeling off kilter, then this stone can help you find energetic equilibrium.
“Fluorite is so so great for balancing both sides of how we process things. The thing I notice the most about fluorite is that whatever emotional response I’m having, or the hyper-analytical overthinking reaction that I’m having, when I get into the aura of fluorite, those start working together in a more harmonious way,” Jennifer explains. “It’s like ‘hey, remember your center, remember these are both sides of you and valuable tools but when we don’t use them together, you feel crazy. “
To Tap into the Grounded Energy of Virgo Season: Serpentine
A rich green like the mythological and archetypal serpent it’s associated with, Serpentine can help you step into the new phase of your life this new zodiac season is bringing you. Not only can serpentine’s earthy energy help you find roots during moments of change and transition, it can help you dispel the fear of these transitions on the first place, adding some self-compassion and stability to the mix.
“Snakes have this symbolism of shedding their skin, so what was old, we’re throwing that off. We’re still who we are but if we stay in all the things that served us previously, if we stay in that skin, we will suffocate and we won’t be able to expand and feel all those things we’re meant to feel in this next stage of our growth” Jennifer points out. “Serpentine is about us relinquishing the old patterns so that we can let go of the old skin and we can embrace having a fresher perspective. Creating a purer relationship with the world all over again.”
To Not Get So Swept Up in the Virgo Energy- Lepidolite
A stone associated with the upper chakras, spirituality, connection to intuition, and the higher self, Lepidolite is an energetic antidote to the laser tight focus that Virgos can fall prey too. If you’re a Virgo, or have heavy Virgo placements in your chart, working with this stone can help you loosen your grip on control while surrendering to the universe and forces that be. This stone can also help you tap into your inner mystic, a more airy quality that may be missing for all the earth-heavy energy.
“For all those ‘I’m so practical, I’m so rigid, I’m so grounded’ Virgos, this stone is a lot more mystical and has lithium in it, a natural antidepressant. Every high strung Virgo needs some Lepidolite in their life,” Virgo Jennifer notes.
“Because this stone is purple, work with it as you begin visualizing how things could be, how things could go right instead of ‘how can I micromanage to control if things go right.’ Lepidolite helps you release into the idea that ‘when I am prepared and relaxed, I can trust the universe to give me the exact result I need.’”
Step 2: Grab Your Crystals and Cannabis and Create the Ritual
So you’ve picked out your stone, you’ve got your favorite strain of weed or edible on hand and you’re ready to get stoned with your stones. What does this even look like? Since Jennifer creates hand carved crystal pipes, you can literally use a stone to get stoned. That’s an option! Not only will the cannabis itself be infused with the vibration of the crystal you smoke out of, but you will also be getting the energetic benefits of both the crystal and cannabis as you smoke.
Even if you’re not smoking out of a stone, holding a crystal or having it next to you as you work with cannabis is a major ritual in itself.
“In terms of how we can utilize stones in our cannabis practice, I think it comes from this awareness. When we’re using crystals to get stoned, what we’re setting ourselves up for is an opportunity for more understanding, to be more aware of what we’re doing,” Jennifer says. “Why’d you buy that stone, why were you attracted to It and what are you trying to do at this moment? If you hold that intention that the stone brings up for you as you’re smoking, when we add intention to any action, I believe we’re creating a ritual. The ritual has transformative power because it’s speaking the language of our subconscious. I think this empowers people to start thinking about ritual from their own perspective.”
Before you begin to get stoned, make sure you have both your cannabis and crystals near you, and then take a moment and think about your intention. What makes you want to connect with this High Priestess energy in this way? With crystals in this way? With cannabis? Speak this out loud, or write it down, or hold it in your mind’s eye. As you take a hit or eat your edible, feel yourself also consuming the energy of the crystal you’re working with.
Both crystals and cannabis are earth medicine, the realm of Virgo, so allow yourself to be taken deep into this space of fortitude, resilience and strength. You may wish to take some time in meditation as you do this, visualizing your third eye, the energy center between your brows in the middle of your forehead, opening up and sharing visions and messages with you.
When you’re finished with your ritual, thank both the plant and earth for its medicine, and enjoy the stoned sensations you’re feeling. Happy Virgo season! Work with these crystals, with or without cannabis, whenever you need to remember their messages.
If you want even more magic from Jennifer Joseph, don’t forget to shop her store Natural Magics, follow her on Instagram and subscribe to her Patreon. And so it is!
