Build Your Own Altar – The Power and Beauty of Meditational Gemstones

by Robert Wilkinson

This is the fruition of an idea I’ve had for a long time. Those of you who have meditation spaces in your home are about to have a great resource, and those who don’t, well, it’s time to “build your own altar!”

I learned years ago that having a Sacred Space in your home where you can remember your connection to Spirit is the only way to live. That’s your altar. Some have simple altars, some have more elaborate altars. It’s really about our connection to the Sacred, and our Sacred Space and the objects we fill it with are a reflection of who we are and what we aspire toward in the way of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.

Over the years I’ve collected many types of gemstones from all around the world. Some are raw, some are cut and polished. I have specimens of every size, from a few ounces to many pounds. When a stone told me it was okay, I had them cut into beautiful and unique cabochons that can’t be found anywhere else on Earth. Having purchased them between 1981 and now, most come from mines that are no longer producing stones, making them unique and impossible to acquire anywhere else for any price.

Every single stone has been on at least one altar in my home. If you wonder how this is possible, my home in Austin in the 80s and 90s had altars in every room. One room actually had 9 different altars, with 3 altars on two huge desks! My bedroom and office had at least 4 altars each, one for each direction. Since then I’ve rotated stones everywhere I’ve lived so that each was part of my prayers and meditations across the years.

I learned years ago to let stones speak to me. I only bought the ones that called to me, those that offered me the secret of their “message,” or energy, as I was able to register it in non-dual Consciousness. When they told me to leave them be, I did. When they told me to buy them, I did. When they told me to offer them to others, I did. When they told me to wait, I did.

Over the years, I’ve made some of them available for clients and friends at extremely low prices, since I never regarded them as something to make money on. That’s why I’ve always been able to sell them for less than anyone else. Now it’s finally time to put even more of my collection of these rare, precious, and beautiful pieces of “Nature art” out there so they can be put on altars for those who want pieces that have both intrinsic and extrinsic value that can’t be found anywhere else.

The pictures you see below are just a few arrangements in our own home. I have stones of every color, with a primary emphasis on copper minerals such as Azurite and Malachite, along with native copper in various forms, such as Sonoran Sunrise Cuprite and raw copper specimens. I’ve also found rare small Azurite “blueberry” geodes, Azurite crystal blades, as well as many different unique combinations of Azur-malachite with Chrysocolla inclusions, creating some very striking color patterns of waves, bulls-eyes, and more. (My research indicates that Azurite is regenerative Aries energy, and Malachite Scorpio energy that helps facilitate the healing of the emotional body, eliminating stuck energy.)

Besides the “usual” specimens, over the years I also acquired a fair amount of chatoyant Azurite and Malachite, which are extremely rare. They have the shimmer of Tiger Eye, but are like deep green or deep blue velvet when cut and polished along the right axis. I prefer them raw, but that’s just me.

To list a few types of stones in my collection, I have raw and cut Lapis (including some small pyramids made entirely of polished Lapis!), Sugilite (heart warrior energy!), Gem Silica (Chrysocolla with silica), small pieces of choice raw Turquoise, black Tourmaline, Peridot, Oregon Sunstone, Moonstone, Amethyst, Chrysophrase, Topaz, various colors of Jasper, Green and Banded Calcite, Carnelians, translucent Agate slices, and a few pieces of one of the rarest minerals on Earth, Campbellite.

Campbellite is a fluke of Nature, mostly composed of Cuprite, Gold Silicate, Calcotrichite, Calcite, Silver, Manganese, and numerous trace minerals that are only found in one place on Earth. Since the mine hasn’t produced any in 30 years, there is no more being found, and high quality cabs are very rare. Each cab looks like a photo of a section of Earth taken from outer space, and under a magnifier you can see some rare and phenomenal combinations. My research indicates it’s Aquarius energy.

Anyway, it’s time for these rare, precious, and beautiful pieces of Earth Art to come out of the boxes they’ve been occupying for the past 2 years and take their place on the altars of the community. Over the years, many who have purchased stones for their altars or meditation practice have told me there is a fantastic shift in the energy, since I acquired them without the usual profit-driven thoughtforms that prevail in buying and selling gem stones. I care more that the stone reaches the right person than making all I can. But if you’ve been reading this site for any length of time, you already know that’s the way I operate.

So check out these pictures with an eye to possible stone configurations on your own altar spaces. If you’re interested, contact me via the email link on the left side, and we’ll go from there. While I don’t have every stone on Earth, I do have the benefit of being able to go to the Tucson gem show every February, which is the largest one in the world.

For many years I’ve found specific stones that clients requested, including Emeralds, Sapphires, single cut Amethysts, huge Amethyst cathedrals, and beds of Amethysts cut into hearts and other shapes, Ametrines, Citrines, Rhodochrosite, Fluorite, Wulfenite, Zoisite (Epidote), Charoite, Apophyllites, Baltic Amber, and various types and sizes of Quartz, including crystal balls of every size, as well as everything listed above, and got them great deals at wholesale prices! (If you’ve ever stood in the middle of a half-acre parking lot filled with clear and rose quartz, it’s quite an experience!)

So if you want something for your altar, desk, or meditation practice, even if I don’t have them in my collection, if you want me to look for certain stones in February, it’s easy!

Some sample altar configurations:

©2014 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Zulma Jimenez]

What is the crystal on top of brown plate right in the middle of altar?

[Robert]

Hi Zulma - If you mean the altar at the bottom of the pictures, there are 3 Swiss Blue Topazes lining the top, a thumb sized Quartz in the middle, and a 13 kt semi-translucent oval Rhodochrosite cab at the bottom.

[Jo Garceau]

In the top photo, is that a lapis in the upper center? and below is a rough purplish stone, what is that?

[Robert]

Hi Jo - Yes, that big piece is in fact a Lapis. I have been finding big chunks like that the past three years at great prices. Regarding the"purplish" stone, if you are referring to the smallish cab, it's a Campbellite. If you're speaking of the larger stone, it's actually an Azurite Rose, deep blue, very rare, with blades. I collected about a dozen of these over the years. As a rule, they run several thousand apiece, but I acquired mine years ago for much less.

For those who come here and are not sure about the color or size of the stones in my collection, if the lighting makes these a bit different than they seem, I will be more than glad to take a more precise picture on various stones and email them to you so you can know exactly what you'll be buying. Again, the stones you see on these altars are samples or a vast number of stones. Some of them are currently on our altars and not for sale, but I have hundreds more of different shapes, sizes, and colors that that have sat on various altars through the years that I'm making available now.

[Nancy]

Created some cool artistic expressions, with star anises and pinecones on past bday, which I added to a personal altar. Added in the Wolf and a White Dove recently, which has meaning on the path and journey at this time. Looking for purple turquoise. And honestly make sure that it is not dyed such color to make more money off me is a plus. Came across some great earrings, and purple turquoise, but would love to get a larger uncut piece. A beautiful rose shaped box I added with rosemary inside, improves memory and smells great. Amethysts added to a wooden box that holds incense and a holder. The Amethysts hold much meaning and energy, were used during sacred ceremony at the Great serpent mound, during the last Venus across the Sun. There are so many possibilities and beautiful ways to get creative and express. Following inner guide and intuition. Thanks for sharing.

[Robert]

Hi Nancy - Natural turquoise is NEVER purple, as it is a Copper Aluminum Phosphate compound. I have studied minerology for over 33 years, and have known at least 50 other lifelong mineral experts, and can state with confidence that a purple turquoise cannot happen because of mineral incompatibility. If it is a purple opaque stone, then it can be many other things, but never turquoise.

Natural turquoise is only green or blue. The only semiprecious opaque purple stones I know of are Zoisite, Sugilite, Opalite, Jasper, Agate, and Charoite. Precious stones include Sapphire, Tanzanite, Lavender Chalcedony (incl. Agate), and Amethyst. I'm sure there are other purple stones, but never turquoise.