Speaking through colour

I was chatting with my spiritual healer friend the other day and mentioned in passing that I was waiting for an order for art materials to arrive, amongst it some cobalt blue oil paint I need for my erotic landscape. I said that it was very expensive to buy and she asked why and I said that some paints are, depending on what they are made from. For instance French Ultramarine used to be made from Lapis lazuli and was incredibly expensive in the old days. "Oh" she said "I've got some of that, would you like to see it?" and indeed I did, very much! So, she brought out her crystals and I sat like a child in a sweetshop enthralled with all the colours, shapes and shiny stones infront of me. She picked out her pieces of Lapis lazuli to show me, and I sat with them in my hand, looking at their particular shade of blue, flecked with gold. How beautiful they were. I pictured the guy who had crawled deep underground to find it, had first seen it, had recognised it for what it was, had brought it into daylight, where it had been sent away to be cut and polished and sold, before finding its way into my hand where I could stare in amazed wonder at it.... And with the Lapis lazuli were other stones, equally as beautiful, a myriad different colours and shapes, all polished and shiny in their settings, they shone and gleamed in the light and enraptured me with their beauty. For I could see their colours and could relate to them for that, but my spiritual healer friend could see their energies and knew their individual powers. And we discussed what we each could see, and learnt from each other of what the other saw. And further into our discussions, it made us wonder about the properties of these stones and crystals, and especially Lapis lazuli, because if it is used as a healing stone, surely there must be something of its power still within it even if it's ground into pigment to paint with? Could its energies be chanelled to the artist and held within the canvas and experienced by the viewer? Healing art? Mmmm.... is that likely? Interesting thought........ so, here are the healing properties of Lapis lazuli:

It is deep blue flecked with gold, and can be found in Chile, Italy, the Middle East, Russia, Afghanistan and Egypt. It opens the third eye, and balances the throat chakra. It stimulates enlightenment, enhances dream-work and psychic abilities, and facilitates spiritual journeying. It releases stress, brings deep peace, processes enormous serenity and is the key to spiritual attainment. It encourages taking charge of life, releases repressed anger in communication or throat. It allows self expression without holding back or compromising. It brings honesty and compassion, encourages creativity through attunement to the source. It aids in expressing own opinions, harmonises conflict, teaches value of active listening, bonds relationships in love and friendship and aids expressing feelings and emotions, dissolves martyrdom, cruelty and suffering, alleviates pain, especially migraine. Overcomes depression, benefits respiratory and nervous systems and the throat. Cleanses organs, bone marrow and the immune system. Overcomes hearing loss, purifies blood, alleviates insomnia and vertigo and lowers blood pressure.

Wow! So, then, if that's the case, will looking at a painting with French Ultramarine in it give you a better nights sleep, make you a better communicator and make you feel happier? Somehow I'd love to think so. But I won't feel any of the above by using French Ultramarine, whether it's in oils or watercolours unfortunately. The reason I know this? Is because Lapis lazuli isn't used nowadays to make paint, its too expensive, the paint is made by a synthetic substitute now. What a shame. It would have been lovely to experience the inner peace the stones can give. Mmm... perhaps my spiritual healer friend will let me look at hers every so often instead..... or maybe I should get some of my own to hold!