I love rocks, minerals, and crystals. I always have. As a kid, I used to crush quartz that I found in the back yard with a hammer, swearing that there were diamonds inside. As I got older, my parents started taking me on field trips to dig fossils and minerals, and when I was 16, my boyfriend at the time enrolled me in the Georgia Mineral Society, where I got to go on digs once a month and collect all my little mineral treasures.

The urge to collect has never left me, and I still buy rocks and minerals here and there, even though I really don’t have anymore space for them. Even my father-in-law, who also collects minerals, has been giving me some really top-notch specimens.

But I do have some favorites. It was tough to narrow it down to 10, but here we go in no particular order.

Rutilated Quartz

This is definitely in my top 3. I’ve had a fascination with rutilated quartz for as long as I can remember. The brilliant rutile needles included in the quartz glimmer and shine in the light. It’s so beautiful. Furthermore, I use rutilated quartz to make connections. The straight needles help me find the clearest path from A to B, and so I use it in tarot readings quite often. I also use it as a crown chakra stone to help connect me to the divine.

Moss Agate

This is like pure nature in a stone. The spirit of the forest resides in moss agate, and it’s a great stone to use to connect to nature when you can’t go outside. It’s also really good for grounding and thinking about practical matters. I’m a Capricorn Sun with no other earth placements in my chart, so grounding stones are really good for getting me into my best state.

Chlorite in Quartz

Are you getting the idea that I love stones with inclusions? The past 3 stones have all been some sort of included quartz or agate (another form of quartz). Chlorite is important to me, however, because 1. It’s stunning. It creates landscapes inside the quartz that look like mountains and forests. 2. It’s known for assisting in shamanic journeying. And it’s no wonder. With a little world inside, you could journey into the crystal and find the wisdom there. I love it so much!

Petrified Wood

I love the idea that over time, anything can be replaced by minerals. Petrified wood is just so damn fascinating to me. And it comes in so many different forms, I love it! I have petrified wood that has been replaced by druzy smoky quartz crystals, and a slice of a petrified limb with colorful patterns inside. It helps to bring me back to the past, and look at transformations I’ve undergone already. It helps me see the beauty in transformations to come. Good stuff.

Ammonites

Ammonites have some similar qualities as petrified wood, but you can find ammonites with some really great patterns. They look almost like they did when they were alive. Or, sometimes you can find them replaced by colorful, iridescent ammolite, which makes beautiful pieces of jewelry. I like to use them to spiral back through lifetimes, or to spiral backwards and speak to the ancestors. I use them for anything having to do with the past.

Quartz Crystals

Quartz crystals are the Swiss army knives of the mineral kingdom. They can be used and programmed for pretty much anything. But that’s not why I like them so much. I like them because of the incredible variety of forms that you can find them in. I also love the healed fractures that form rainbows in the middle of quartz crystals, and I especially love them if they have inclusions. I tend to use them for clear vision when I’m doing readings to predict the future.

Garnet

Garnet is my birthstone, so I naturally have an affinity to it. However, its properties of strength, courage, and motivation are HUGE to me. The red varieties resemble pomegranate seeds as well, which ties it to Persephone, though there are green, orange, brown and purple varieties as well. It also forms a really beautiful crystal shape, and you can even find star garnets out there. Beautiful!

Apatite

As a throat chakra stone, apatite is especially suited to helping with clear communication. It’s great for when you want to express yourself verbally, but also great for creative pursuits where you’re trying to really express a unique view point. Electric blue apatite is also just gorgeous. There’s nothing quite like that color!

Moonstone

Is there anything more beautiful and inspiring than an icy-cold piece of rainbow moonstone? The pinks and blues that flash under the surface are just so beautiful. And most pieces have black tourmaline inclusions, and you know by now that I adore inclusions. So it has the benefits of connecting you to the moon as well as connecting you to all things intuitive and under the surface of what we see. I love that so much!

Labradorite

I hesitated on separating labradorite and moonstone, since they’re so closely related, but decided to separate them out. Labradorite is just beautiful. Where moonstone is the full moon, labradorite is the new moon. Where moonstone illuminates, labradorite obscures. It’s incredibly useful for going through transitions and transformations, and I almost always have a piece touching my skin.

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So that’s it! That’s my 10! Do you have favorite stones that you just can’t do without? Stones that you use in your practice as often as possible? Let me know in the comments! Blessed be! <3