In modern day metaphysical shops, especially crystal shops, people tend to go for the shiniest stones looking for things that’ll draw them love or money. Naming a few crystals like Rose Quartz or Citrine will surely conjure up these ideas of bringing in true love or a big pay day. However in different magical traditions, there is a little stone that we tend to look over. It’s not the most crystalline looking, or the prettiest when compared to other crystals, or even that shiny.
It’s the humble looking Lodestone. Most practitioners aren’t even familiar with this particular stone, but essentially it is a mineral called Magnetite that is found to be magnetized, which in nature is due to lightning strikes. Sometimes you’ll find them polished or shaped, but you’ll also see them in their raw form. I’ve personally recommended a Lodestone or two to customers only to be met with a confused glance and a “Are you sure that’s not just a plain rock you’re trying to sell me?”
Unfortunately for the homely Lodestone, people love to have glitz and glam, but fortunately for practitioners like me who know how to use these stones, it means there’s more for me to use.
Lodestones in magical traditions have their roots in African metallurgy. Of course you see some usage of Lodestones in other traditions in Europe but not quite as extensively or as revered as in African diasporic traditions. Lodestones, by nature, are magnetic in magical properties as well as physical properties. This is why they are so heavily used in magic that revolves around drawing things to you, like love or money.
Now a few key differences when it comes to using Lodestones compared to other crystals. One key difference is the thought of life in crystals. While some practitioners do believe that crystals have a form of consciousness, Lodestones are treated as though they are very much alive, almost like a pet by practitioners. Like living things, Lodestones are typically given names to further empower it and they are fed. Feeding a Lodestone can be done a few different ways such as feeding it with a form of magnetic dust made from steel or iron shavings, or if you run out, some opt for liquor like whiskey. Like a pet, regular feedings are suggested to ensure the Lodestone and you are working well together.
Something that has been taught to me is to have a Lodestone on your altar and nightly, take money from your pockets and leave it with the Lodestone, then feed it with your choice of food. This way it is imparting its power to your money, and this is a nifty way of creating your own magical savings bank for those rainy days.
For love magic, Lodestones are great for attracting new lovers and for maintaining current lovers as well. Lodestones meant for love magic in these traditions, it is commonly thought that these stones also hold genders. That being said, as time changes and we are aware of the wide spectrum of gender identity and constructs, you can use Lodestones in this gendered way or not, magic is afterall about your intentions and choices. For those who do want to, or just for knowledge’s sake, a male Lodestone is characterized usually as pyramidal, wedge like, or pointed. Female Lodestones tend to be more round, cubic, or rectangular.
If you are lucky enough to find two Lodestones that are magnetically drawn to one another, you can definitely use these for love magic and attraction. As anyone who has played with two magnets, Lodestones also exhibit the same magnetism where two can be attracted to each other although usually not as forcefully or aggressively as manufactured magnets.
Typically you’d name one for yourself and name the other Lodestone for either your current partner, love interest, or a generic “my future lover” and place them together. This is to draw your current lover or interest closer, or draw in a new potential mate.
Now in the chance that you are dating someone you’ve named a Lodestone for and you’ve separated for whatever reason, what does one do with that Lodestone? Modern day mystics sometimes may just tell you to sit and reprogram your crystals for another intention. Lodestones on the other hand are not as easily deprogrammed and reprogrammed. It’s like calling a pet a certain name for years, then one day changing it on them and getting frustrated when that pet doesn’t respond to the new name you’ve given it. And like they say, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. In this case, I usually recommend that you ritually bury your Lodestone and find another pair.
A way to circumvent this particular problem in my opinion is to name one Lodestone for yourself as usual and name the second one the generic name. Once you’ve found that future mate, then you can change the name of the Lodestone if you wish.
Hopefully this introductory primer will help you incorporate a new crystal into your collection to allow for more diverse and interesting rituals and practices. While using the same Rose Quartz and Citrine for love and money is great, I always like to suggest new and different solutions to a situation to see how it helps. Some people may still have aversion to this unassuming but take this from someone with a 2 pound Lodestone for the past 3 years, if you can look past its maintenance, it is something that can be very versatile and powerful within your personal repertoire.