Fouling up Afghanistan’s Lapis Lazuli Mines

lapis lazuli

Before we get into the whole of Afghanistan’s Lapis Lazuli Mines topic…

First, I will set some ground rules for myself and ask that you kindly keep to the same in any commenting (these are pretty much the rules I stick to for what I post about, in general, so I can discern if it’s within the realm of what our community is expecting to learn from me and also not contribute to any division or separation… certain topics have a way of doing that even if it’s not the original intention)

Ground Rules

  1. No political discussion – please put politics aside
  2. No religious discussion – please put religion aside
  3. No vaccine discussion – please put opinions aside (WTH does that have to do with this topic? I don’t know — but somehow, lately, it ends up sneaking into everything so I’m just putting it out there… stay off this topic here too.)
  4. No bringing up the general ethics of mining minerals (I’ve already written an opinion piece on that topic here, feel free to dive in deep and comment there on that — … Read More
2022-12-21T15:27:56-05:0095 Comments

Lapis Lazuli | the New Blood Diamond?

lapis_fi

I have a policy to not discuss politics and war. I’m totally against it. (Ooops…sorry. That just slipped out.)

…but today I have to make an exception.

Some recent controversy surrounding lapis lazuli has come up. About it being like the blood diamond trade. My take on that issue & conflict minerals in general is in this blog post.

So much so that I made sure not to include any lapis in the recommended crystal kits for my recently enrolled Certified Crystal Practitioner Courses.

lapis lazuli from Pakistan

Although, I did report on what info I knew, including my opinion on it, in my bi-weekly newsletter last month, I realized I was doing the greater crystal community…including those who aren’t subscribed to my newsletter (I know, can you believe? Some crystal lovers haven’t yet subbed?! )…a great disservice by not sharing this info on a larger scale. I do have a relatively big platform here with my blog and on social media & could get so many more eyes on this lapis issue by posting about this here openly.

But, … Read More

2021-12-16T12:41:18-05:0023 Comments

How to Pick Out Crystal Fakes: Part 5

So this crystal fakes stuffs is getting to be a popular series here on my blog.

And I’m quite enjoying my role in revealing & educating on the gemmy fakes & frauds that have crossed my path.
You can check out the other parts here:

Before I get into the fakes & confusers I want to draw attention to in this blog post, there’s a little sumn’ sumn’ I wanna to discuss.

My aim here is NOT to completely remove the romanticism of stones & crystals. You know I’m all about the sparkly, glittery & spiritual side of them! Who do you know that sings their praises more than me?

But it may be time for a wee dose of reality when it comes to realizing that they may not arrive 100% unaltered in our hungry little hands. I’ve already discussed my stance on the ethics of mining crystals and stones here…different topic.

All righty…let’s get into it.

After stones are removed from Mother Earth, they’re usually given … Read More

2020-09-17T18:14:09-04:001 Comment
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