Carnelian
gemstones, colors orange, yellow, orange-brown, apricot

Carnelian is the ideal stone for balancing your inner fire. You know, that salamander curled up in your pelvis, the one that helps manage your dynamism, creativity, desires, libido, joie de vivre and vital energy.

When there's too much fire, your salamander is difficult to channel, you become explosive, easily irritable or angry, agitated or even insomniac.

When your fire is cold, it's your wounds that motivate your actions, your projections, your unresolved emotions (for example, completing a project for the sole purpose of competition or revenge). Cold fire is poison for your salamander.

When your salamander doesn't have enough fire to feed on, you run out of energy, your creativity falls asleep, everything takes up too much of your energy, and you gradually lose your taste for life.

Carnelian can be useful when anger is difficult to get through; with a balanced fire, it will be easier for you to avoid overreacting, behaving excessively or even violently.

It's a warm and joyful companion that makes you want to live life to the full, to socialize and create. She can help heal emotional traumas, help you overcome life's difficulties - but above all, with her, you'll be encouraged to realize that you're a creative being and that with a well-fed and nourished salamander, you can achieve great things.

By releasing crystallized blockages in the pelvic area at the level of the second chakra and stimulating metabolism, Carnelian can improve fertility in both men and women - and help with pathologies affecting the male and female reproductive organs, stimulate libido and support in cases of frigidity or impotence.

It can also be a great support after gynecological violence, sexual abuse, difficult childbirth or miscarriage - as well as in cases of premenstrual syndrome, painful periods or irregular cycles.

It is also recommended for releasing blockages that could prevent pregnancy or childbirth from going smoothly and for soothing infant colic.

Physically, as well as acting on the reproductive organs, it helps improve digestion, stimulates appetite and blood circulation.

How to use Carnelian

To enjoy the benefits of Carnelian on a daily basis, you can wear it as jewelry or carry it in your pocket.
Jewelry can be, for example, round pearl bracelets, a ring, or one or two earrings.

To improve your fertility, wear a Carnelian just below your navel, or take time for relaxation and visualization with a Carnelian placed on this area; feel free to create your own rituals with this stone.

A ritual for releasing memories and blockages using a Carnelian can be particularly powerful: lightly heat a Carnelian in hot water or near a fire and place it on your belly, asking for any blockages and memories in the pelvic area to be released immediately.

A pierced carnelian yoni egg can be an excellent choice.

Where to place it in your living space?

Carnelian in your home will bring energies conducive to conviviality, joie de vivre and creativity.

Place it in the marital bedroom to boost libido, on the dining room table or in the kitchen to stimulate the desire to cook and share good food, or in your workshop for its creative and inspiring mood.

Which crystals amplify the virtues of Carnelian in lithotherapy?

• You can combine it with Jaspera stone with many similarities in hue and energizing properties.
• or Citine to boost vitality and creativity
• or the Rock Crystalto amplify its effects.
• You can also choose a set of fine pearls and thread, and make your own jewelry.

Carnelian mineralogy

Carnelian is an orange, yellow, orange-brown or apricot-colored chalcedony (of the Quartz group and the Oxide class) composed of silicon dioxide, oxygen and iron. It forms mainly in hydrothermal solutions in volcanic rocks.

Its color comes from the iron hydroxides present in its composition - for yellow to orange cornelians - and from iron oxides and a higher temperature when its color is brown-orange-red.

As orange and orange-red Carnelian are the most sought-after, Carnelian is often heated to intensify its color (this process was already used in ancient Egypt). Unfortunately, dyed agates are also often found under the name of Carnelian.

The history of Carnelian

Its history dates back over 7,000 years. Archaeological digs in Pakistan have uncovered pierced cornelians that were probably used as talismans in the Neolithic era.

In the 6,000-year-old Mesopotamian tale of Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk meditates beside his inanimate younger brother Enkidu, offering honey in a Carnelian cup and butter in a Lapis lazuli cup to the Sun.

For the Egyptians, this stone, like Lapis lazuli, protected the dead on their journeys. They associated it with the goddess Isis.

The Greeks and Romans loved to wear signet rings with Carnelian. For them, it was a symbol of good luck and warded off the evil eye.

It was highly prized by alchemists for its ability to activate dead matter.

In Buddhist culture, it is reputed to be a stone of healing and protection.