For this week’s Astrogem Geomantic Horoscope click HERE or scroll down below.
Geome: Tristitia; Gemstone: Seraphinite
Malcolm has a problem with Seraphinite.
He emailed me recently to ask if there was an alternative he could use for his Astrogem Advisors (aka, his gemstones).
“I was wondering if there is an alternative to Seraphinite as the samples I have seen don’t seem to do it for me, if you know what I mean?”
In this situation there are several things to consider:
Was it that he couldn’t find a good specimen of Seraphinite? Perhaps he didn’t ‘resonate’ with that particular gemstone? Maybe he didn’t resonate with the the whole idea of Tristitia being represented by Seraphinite?
This last point is not uncommon. Several times people have mentioned to me that they don’t resonate with one particular gemstone. When we talk it through they often find that it is simply that they don’t see this particular quality as something which is strongly expressed in their personality or experience.
In this case it might be that the concept of geome Tristitia (‘Unhappiness because of pressure on the physical world and the consequent massive and unpredictable change’) was not an ‘archetype’ which he felt within himself. Or perhaps it was an area he needed to develop or internalise within himself.
Maybe it was because this was some new spiritual territory to him which made him feel uncomfortable for the present. In that case it would not be surprising that he would find it difficult to get a gemstone to represent it.
But then he pointed out the answer:
“I have found that it [Seraphinite] does not ‘resonate’ for me and just doesn’t feel right. I have a feeling that something else could be used and seem drawn to a very nice piece of Unakite that DID seem to jump out at me. There are lots of nice specimens of Seraphinite so would you advise waiting until the right piece turns up, so to speak?”
In this case it is not the archetype of geome Tristitia which is the problem but rather the specific gemstone.
Unakite
I suggested that, in this case, there was no problem in using something other than Seraphinite — so long as he understood and remembered that the Unakite represented Tristitia and replaced the Seraphinite then there is absolutely no problem using it.
As I have mentioned elsewhere, I don’t believe it is necessary to connect any gemstone ‘properties’ with the a geome or its divinatory role. I know some people have strong feelings about gemstone properties, and it’s perfectly OK for them to use entirely different gemstones for every geome if they wish — so long as they know which gemstone represents which geome, then there is no problem.
I originally chose Seraphinite to represent this geome because the base colour of the gemstone’s matrix is green. Green is one of the traditional colours for Tristitia’s planetary correspondent, Uranus. Not only that but it also has the ‘silver/white-in-several-directions’ which represents the multiple changes in multiple dimensions of this geome. (This idea of ‘multiplicity’ helps to understand the broader and more complex aspect of this aspect of ‘change’. It takes it way beyond the simpler or purer idea of ‘change’ represented by the single colour silver in Haematite for Conjunctio/Albus!)
So Unakite, with its green matrix and red crystals with white flecks and veins might be just the thing!
The long and short of it is that the Oracle needs to speak to you, and vice versa. You need to do what it takes to make that happen and to feel comfortable with it. The language of the Oracle may indeed have an ‘accent’ for you, but that does not matter.
After all, you can also use just paper, or dowse, or use coins, etc., as you know from the Astrogem course, so a change of gemstone is not a problem.
As long as you are clear in your mind to start with then both you and the Oracle will have a common divinatory language, and you will be able to communicate.
Thank you, Malcolm, for giving me the opportunity to let others know this and to help them be able to bond with the Oracle in their own ways.