Tag: herkimer diamonds

Reskilling: In which I make a cool little guy.
life

Reskilling: In which I make a cool little guy.

J.1 Comment

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For the past few years, ever since reading Dana O’Driscoll’s Sacred Actions: Living the Wheel of the Year through Earth-Centered Sustainable Practices, I have been on a reskilling bent. To be honest, it’s also one of the things that helps ease my climate anxiety (and anxiety in general) — increasing my ability to be self-sufficient, gaining skills I can use to help others, and learning how to do things that I can potentially barter with if everything goes pear shaped.

Honestly, Etsy has been a huge help when it comes to this kind of thing. I’ve learned so much about fermentation, soapmaking, pottery, and so much more from kits and patterns that I’ve picked up there. (It’s also been a huge help for hard-to-find supplies, but more on that at another time.)

All of this is to say that I made a cool little guy, and I am going to take him on Adventures.

Image taken from the shop listing, by Tatiana Skalozub.

My Handsome Assistant bought me this kit from an Etsy shop called TSminibears. I’d had it favorited for a while, and he surprised me with it over winter. I was initially a bit intimidated — the finished doll is only a few inches tall, which means lots of tiny, fiddly bits to cut out (while maintaining the proper seam allowances, natch), sew, turn out, stuff, attach, et cetera. So, I put off starting it.

Finally, I got over my initial inertia, traced the pattern, and got to work. As is so often the case, actually starting to do the thing was the hard part. Once I did that, the process seemed to fly by.

The written instructions of this kit are fairly sparse, but that’s okay. The bulk of what you need to know is in the form of a YouTube video, where the creator walks you through the entire process of assembling the pieces, stuffing the crow, adding details, and so forth. As someone who’s had to both write and follow written instructions before, I know it can sometimes be difficult to describe exactly what steps you need to do, and what the desired result should be. This is especially true when it’s an art project, where so many things can influence the outcome and there’s a pretty broad tolerance for minor errors or stylistic choices.

I found myself choosing to skip a few of the steps, myself. I knew I’d probably want to make him some tiny clothes at some point, so I left off the bits that I thought might interfere with this. (For example, the feathers on his head. That might make wearing tiny hats or hoodies difficult. Also, not gonna lie, I kind of fell in love with his very spherically domed, Charlie Brown look and didn’t want to change it.) I stuffed him with a bit of wool with a tiny Herkimer diamond for a heart and, even with some steps skipped, I think he turned out awesome.

I mean, look at him.
He’s adorable.

I can’t wait to make him many tiny scarves.

If crows aren’t your thing (which, how dare), there are a ton of other kits for elephants, dragons, bunnies, a triceratops, and even a bizarrely cute cobra and weirdly endearing mussel. If you’d like to learn more about making stuffed toys and aren’t sure where to start, this is definitely a good place. Take your time, make sure you know which direction the faux fur lays, and follow the instructions on Skalozub’s videos, and you will also make a cool little guy.

Working with Herkimer Diamonds
crystals

Working with Herkimer Diamonds

J.9 Comments

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I like crystals. Even if I didn’t work with them, I’d probably collect them.

I received my first one when I was very little — about five or so, I think. It was a piece of dyed hot pink agate, shaped into an egg about as long as my thumb. I didn’t know anything about geology or crystal properties, but I knew I liked it and so, like a corvid, I kept it with the rest of my treasures.

(Most of those “treasures” were dead swamp cicadas that I’d pick up on the sidewalk in late summer. I had — okay, have — a Thing for iridescent colors.)

I still collect crystals, though now they actually get used for things. Unfortunately, the reality of the crystal market means I can’t just buy whatever I like. There’s a vetting process. Since I’m also lazy, this means that, for the past couple of years, I’ve only picked up Arkansas quartz, Herkimer diamonds, and piece or two from Brazil after making a nuisance of myself to the seller.

All of this is to say that Herkimer diamonds kick ass and they’re very easy to obtain ethically. If I could only use one crystal for the rest of my life, it’d be one of these.

What are Herkimer diamonds?

Well, for one, they’re not diamonds. They earn their name because they come from Herkimer county, New York, and are an exceptionally hard, clear variety of (usually double-terminated) quartz.

Herkimer is known for these stones, so there are a bunch of mines you can visit to get your own from the source. There’s no child labor involved, and the process of mining is pretty much you, some hand tools, and a bucket, so these crystals are also lower on the social and environmental impact scale than many others. A bunch of Etsy merchants make a point to visit Herkimer once a year or so, dig for some, then sell them, so they’re also pretty easy to obtain even if you aren’t interested in making the trip yourself. (Two of my favorite sellers are Luminous Harvest and Greengem. Bonus, Greengem is also a source of beautiful, conflict-free rings — even some really fancy alternative engagement rings.)

How are Herkimer diamonds used for spiritual healing?

Herkimer diamonds have a reputation as extremely high-vibration crystals. They’re supposedly good for purifying the physical and astral body, attuning you to another person, group, or place, removing energy blocks, and increasing the “oomph” of the other stones they’re used with.

According to Michael Gienger’s Healing Crystals, they can be used for awareness, clarity, dream recall, heightened awareness and consciousness, and pain relief. It’s also trigonal and secondary, which makes it particularly helpful for people with “trigonal personalities,” and who wish to unlearn negative behavioral patterns and live in greater harmony with their external environment. For more information, read Gienger’s Crystal Power, Crystal Healing. It’s a very interesting read that outlines his really unique approach to the subject.

(Of course, I don’t endorse the use of crystals in place of conventional medicine. They’re great as a complementary therapy, but please consult a doctor first.)

A hand holds a Herkimer diamond in clear river water.
Cleaning a Herkimer diamond in the river. Look at all of those hydrocarbon inclusions!

What are the magical properties of Herkimer diamonds?

Since they’re clear quartz, they are pretty efficient “all purpose” stones. They do often come with some neat, unique features that make them particularly useful, in a magical sense:

  • Many of them contain hydrocarbons, visible as black lines, dots, or flecks within the crystal. These bits of incredibly ancient vegetable matter connect us to our ancestors, all the way back to our pre-human family tree. For this reason, they can be very helpful for ancestor work.
  • Most of them are double terminated, which makes them helpful for simultaneously sending and receiving energy.
  • A lucky few contain deposits of water, too! “Enhydro” crystals are strongly connected to the water element, as well as earth. This makes them useful for rituals for purification and emotional healing.
  • Some of the rainbow fractures and water or hydrocarbon inclusions give them a character that’s similar to garden quartz (or shaman quartz). The inclusions and “flaws” can create beautifully complex scenes inside the crystal that are lots of fun to fall into. This makes them great as a meditative focus, or an aid to trance or journeying work.
  • They’re generally not huge. To be honest, most of the ones you’ll find in metaphysical shops are downright tiny. This makes them great for including in pouches, sachets, bottles, or whatever else your witchy heart desires.

Herkimer Diamond Clearing Spray Recipe

This is a recipe for something I whip up when I’m in a situation where salt, smoke, or other methods of clearing energy aren’t advisable. Plus, it smells really good.

You’ll need:

  1. First, make sure your ingredients are good to go — tell them what you’re using them for, and what you’d like them to do for you. Bergamot protects from evil, cuts off interference, and functions as a “power” herb. Lavender cleanses and promotes peace. Ylang ylang is calming and uplifting. Rosemary is cleansing and protecting. Vervain purifies, gets rid of negative energy, and enhances the action of other herbs in the mixture. Frankincense is purifying and energy raising.
  2. Add the dried herbs and oils first. You can go with your preference here, one is no more powerful than the other. You don’t need much — a drop or two of oil, a pinch or two of herbs.
  3. Swirl the mixture when you’re through, and speak your intention again. This can be simple. Start with, “With this mixture, I[…]” and state your intent.
  4. If you plan to keep this for a long time, fill the bottle two thirds of the way with high proof grain alcohol, like Everclear. (The Tisserand Institute has more information on preservation here.)
  5. Fill the bottle the rest of the way with lavender hydrosol or distilled water. Swirl to mix.
  6. Add the Herkimer diamond.
  7. Screw the top on the bottle and label it. You’re done!

While the sun is great for empowering things, it’s also not super great for scents. If you want to charge this mixture, do so either under moonlight, or very briefly under sunlight. To use it, simply mist the object, person, or space in need of some energy clearing.