Cooling down, turning in, getting clear

Aragonite is fascinating stuff – it looks like a crystal from outer space (but isn’t!).

It is what is called an “orthorhombic” crystal. I have looked up a number of definitions for this term, and none of them made any sense to me whatsoever. 

But what it comes down to is that when it’s in a cluster, it has what is known as a “Spudnik” form – and you can see why.

I think aragonite is a great stone for Autumn, which is a time of transition and change. While it is said to work with all of the chakras, it resonates very strongly with the earth-star and root chakras, so it’s excellent both for grounding and for enhancing our connection with the earth.

It’s great for helping you keep your feet on the ground if you have a tendency to have your head in the clouds. While you’re here on earth with the rest of us, it will help you get some useful stuff done. 

If one of those useful things is study, then aragonite is said to help with concentration, focus, discipline and self-control.

It is a calming, stabilising and centring stone, helping us to stay patient and calm even when things are a bit windy and unpredictable. 

As a grounding stone, it has been used to help with the kind of nervousness and stress that can leave us restless, twitchy and unable to sleep. It’s another stone that is good to have under your pillow to help you sleep (if you can find a specimen that isn’t too spiky!). 

2.   Hematite 



Hematite is a much-loved stone for grounding and protection. It is said to help us be more calm in times of stress by absorbing the negativity around us (so cleanse often!) and also by keeping us grounded. 

It’s especially helpful to keep our feet on the earth when we’re trying to work on our spiritual development (so we don’t lose track of the real world!). 

It is said to promote love and help us to be magnetic! It can also help us to find our inner strength and courage.

Hematite can contain a slight magnetic charge – so it probably isn’t a great choice if you have a pacemaker. The stones that we often see for sale called “magnetic hematite” actually aren’t hematite at all, and should definitely be avoided by those with pacemakers. 

3.   Polychrome Jasper 

Polychrome jasper (also known as polychromatic jasper) is a stone I really love for Autumn (and the rest of the year, but it seems particularly good for Autumn to me!).

It’s a great grounding and centring stone, but also can charge us up a bit. This is a great combination for Autumn, when we need that sense of grounding to move through a time of change, but also a bit of a burst of energy to get things done in preparation for the quieter, more still energy of Winter.

It is said to help you stay calm in stressful times, and also maintain focus when things are a bit unsettled. Polychrome jasper is also said to help creativity, inspiration, and even finding new love (I’ve never tried it for that, but if you do, let me know how it goes!). 

How I mostly use it both in my own practice and in healing sessions is as a grounding and centring stone, but with a bit of an extra quality. A crystal healing practitioner for whom I have great respect once described polychrome jasper to me as a stone that helps you ground and centre, but also supports you to reach out for help in appropriate ways when you need it. To me, that is one of its most important qualities and a quality that many of us need a bit of help with (and probably why that practitioner was convincing me to buy the stuff)!

Polychrome jasper comes in a bunch of different colours. It may not be the prettiest and shiniest of all stones, but I think it is pretty special in its own way. 

4.   Smoky Quartz 



There’s no bad time of year for smoky quartz, it’s pretty essential. If you’re interested in crystals, you definitely need some smoky quartz in your collection. It’s known as a stone that can not only help to banish your nightmares, but also to manifest your dreams.

It works well with all chakras, but is particularly useful for earth and base chakra work. It is a grounding and protection stone, but also help to bring a soothing, grounded energy to all the other energy centres. As an earth chakra stone, it helps us to feel more connected to the earth, and also helps us to want to take care of it.

It is a great grounding and protection stone, and is also said to help with elimination and detoxification. It helps to relieve fear and promote acceptance, and gently dissolves negative emotions. 

Smoky quartz can help us to think pragmatically and in a positive way, and to communicate clearly – both with others and with ourselves in meditation.

It can support us to soothe stress and pain – even when it doesn’t dissolve stress or pain, it can help us to tolerate what we need to while we do what we need to do to move forward.

Due to smoky quartz’ popularity, there’s lots of artificially-created ones around. You can usually know which ones these are because they will be more or less black and non-transparent.

5.   Carnelian – my favourite crystal for Autumn!



Carnelian brings a bit of fire into your life!

It’s a great stone for firing up our creativity, positivity and lust for life (and well, lust in general, actually). 

It’s a great stone for getting things done and for putting a fire under you. It can also help us to focus and concentrate while we’re trying to get those things done, too.

Even though it has that fiery aspect, it is still a stone to support calmness – especially around fears – and helps us to accept things as they are, and do what we can to change and control what we can. 

It grounds us in reality, helping us to focus in meditation, to connect to our personal power – but not lose our compassion.

It’s one of my absolute favourite stones at any time of the year, but in Autumn it’s just brilliant. 

I hope you’ve found this useful. Do you have any other crystals you like for Autumn?  I decided to stop at five, but I could go on for years. I’d love to hear what you think!