Crystal magic bags are small pouches filled with different types of crystals or gemstones that are believed to possess certain magical properties. These bags are commonly used in various spiritual practices and rituals to harness the energy of the crystals and enhance their metaphysical properties. Each crystal or gemstone is associated with specific healing, protection, or manifestation properties. These properties are believed to be amplified when the crystals are grouped together in a bag. For example, amethyst is often included in crystal magic bags for its calming and stress-relieving properties, while rose quartz is included for its qualities of love and healing. Crystal magic bags can be used for various purposes such as meditation, energy healing, manifestation, or protection.
The Graveyard Book is a bildungsroman – a novel about a protagonist’s education – in which Nobody’s unusual tutors are a collection of ghosts, a vampire and a female werewolf, and the strange powers are supernatural abilities granted by the dead people who live (as it were) in the graveyard.
So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, the Four Bikers of the Apocalypse are revving up their mighty hogs and hitting the road, and the world s last two remaining witch-finders are getting ready to fight the good fight, armed with awkwardly antiquated instructions and stick pins. Gemini is ruled by Mercury or Hermes god of thieves, jokes, communication, travel and secrets; in addition to which he is the conductor of souls to the Underworld.
Crystal magic bags can be used for various purposes such as meditation, energy healing, manifestation, or protection. During meditation, a person might hold the bag or place it near them to enhance their focus and spiritual connection. In energy healing, the bag can be used to cleanse and balance the chakras by placing it on various energy points of the body.
Ghosts, ghouls and graveyards: Margaret Atwood on the magic of Neil Gaiman
O nce, during an on stage discussion of the type literary festivals go in for, I frightened Neil Gaiman by channelling the voice of the Wicked Witch of the West from the film The Wizard of Oz. “And your little dog, too!” I cackled. “No! No! Don’t do that!” cried Neil. He then explained that he had been petrified by this green-tinted witch as an eight-year-old. Behold: a literary influence had been discovered!
The best children’s writers are, somewhere deep in their psyches, still eight years old. They know what is scary. They remember what it was like to have your hand plunged into a Halloween bowl of peeled grapes in a darkened room, having been told they were eyeballs. They relish the delights of being terrified in song and story. They understand the benefits of imaginary horror: yes, this is frightening, but ultimately it can be dealt with, at least in fictional form.
Gaiman brought himself up right. He read a great many books proper to his future calling, and absorbed their memes and lessons. When advised to direct his feet to the sunny side of the street, he did – he does not write tragedies – but he also directed them to the shadow side; for, as Ursula K Le Guin so memorably put it: “Only in silence the word, / Only in dark the light, / Only in dying life: / Bright the hawk’s flight / On the empty sky.” Or as Beatrix Potter demonstrated, no fun robbing the radishes from Mr McGregor’s garden unless the rabbit-pie dish hovers as a threat. What’s the point of being “Alive, alive, oh” unless you also risk being dead as a doorknob? (Though we must reserve judgment about those doorknobs, in view of A Christmas Carol.)
Illustration from Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book by Chris Riddell.
Astrologically, Gaiman is a Scorpio with Gemini rising and, if you go in for that sort of thing – as he must, because I found his horoscope online – this explains much. Scorpio is governed by Pluto, patron of the Underworld as well as of plumbing, underwear, the criminal underworld and everything below the line. Gemini is ruled by Mercury or Hermes: god of thieves, jokes, communication, travel and secrets; in addition to which he is the conductor of souls to the Underworld. Most travel to the land of the dead is one-way, but Hermes comes and goes as he pleases, and so do various protagonists in books by Gaiman, including The Graveyard Book.
Most of us have a distinct aversion to being dead. We have great difficulty imagining ourselves as simply not existing any more: even the sentence “I will be dead” contains an “I”. So where will the “I” be when the “dead” phase kicks in? There have been a great many answers to that question over time: in a dusty underworld (Mesopotamia); in a complex, many-chambered afterlife, supposing your heart passes its weighing-in test against the Feather of Truth (ancient Egypt); in the asphodel-bestrewn but tedious Elysian Fields, if a Greek hero; in Hell, Purgatory, Paradise or Heaven, if an early-Renaissance Christian; in the territories of the dead after your journey on the three-day road (indigenous North America), or in the inventive goth worlds of Tim Burton, such as the one in Corpse Bride; or in the frolicsome Mexican Day of the Dead realm of the recent Pixar film Coco.
But there are many other possibilities. You could – for instance – become a vampire: neither alive nor dead. You could become a ghoul: alive in a way, but consuming dead bodies. Or you could become a ghost: there but not there, visible sometimes but invisible at other times, and frequently spotted in graveyards.
It is this latter body of folklore that Gaiman draws on for The Graveyard Book. The hero of his tale begins as a toddler who climbs out of the window while his parents are being murdered and makes his way uphill to the neighbourhood cemetery, where some of the resident spirits – prompted by the fleeting appearance of his ghostly mother – elect to adopt him. Since they don’t know his name, they call him “Nobody” (“Bod” for short), reminding us of the ruse practised by the wily Ulysses during his escape from that pesky Cyclops. So useful to be able to answer “Nobody” when asked who you are.
The graveyard in question is very old and contains many layers of time – Celtic, ancient Roman, many centuries of English – so Bod learns different kinds of writing from the tombstones and a lot about history from the inhabitants. There is a misadventure when he tries to go to a real school – he doesn’t exactly fit in – but his persecutors are satisfactorily foiled.
It’s customary for heroes to be educated in unorthodox ways – by a centaur, for instance, like Achilles, or by a wizard, like King Arthur. It’s also not unusual for them to have dead parents and strange powers, like Harry Potter.
The Graveyard Book is a bildungsroman – a novel about a protagonist’s education – in which Nobody’s unusual tutors are a collection of ghosts, a vampire and a female werewolf, and the strange powers are supernatural abilities granted by the dead people who live (as it were) in the graveyard.
Gaiman brought himself up right. He read a great many books proper to his future calling, and absorbed their memes and lessons. When advised to direct his feet to the sunny side of the street, he did – he does not write tragedies – but he also directed them to the shadow side; for, as Ursula K Le Guin so memorably put it: “Only in silence the word, / Only in dark the light, / Only in dying life: / Bright the hawk’s flight / On the empty sky.” Or as Beatrix Potter demonstrated, no fun robbing the radishes from Mr McGregor’s garden unless the rabbit-pie dish hovers as a threat. What’s the point of being “Alive, alive, oh” unless you also risk being dead as a doorknob? (Though we must reserve judgment about those doorknobs, in view of A Christmas Carol.)
To use a crystal magic bag for manifestation, specific crystals associated with the desired outcome are included in the bag. For instance, citrine is often used for abundance and prosperity, while clear quartz is believed to amplify intentions. Placing the bag in a prominent area or carrying it with you can help attract the desired energies and bring about the manifestation. In terms of protection, crystal magic bags can be used to ward off negative energies or psychic attacks. Black tourmaline, for example, is known for its protective properties and can be included in the bag for this purpose. It is important to note that the effectiveness of crystal magic bags is based on personal belief and intention. Some individuals may have a strong connection with certain crystals and feel their energy more strongly, while others may not experience the same effects. However, for those who resonate with the metaphysical properties of crystals, working with crystal magic bags can be a powerful tool for personal growth and transformation..
Reviews for "Crystal Magic Bags for Love and Relationships: Attracting and Enhancing Connections"
1. Jane - 2 stars - I was really excited to try out these crystal magic bags, but I must say I was disappointed. The bag was smaller than expected, and the crystals inside were not of high quality. It felt like they were just cheap, plastic imitations. In addition, the bag did not have any clear instructions on how to use it or what its purpose was. Overall, it didn't provide the magical experience I was hoping for.
2. Sarah - 1 star - I do not recommend the crystal magic bags at all. The quality of the crystals was extremely poor, and they didn't have any vibrancy or energy that genuine crystals possess. The bag itself looked cheap and poorly made. I felt like I wasted my money on something that promised magic but delivered disappointment. Save your money and invest in real crystals instead.
3. Tom - 3 stars - I was intrigued by the concept of crystal magic bags and decided to give them a try. While they were not terrible, they didn't meet my expectations either. The bag was cute and compact, but the crystals inside were small and unimpressive. I didn't feel any magical effects while using them, which was disappointing. It might work for some people, but it just didn't click with me.