Need To Get Motivated? You'll Want Some Of This On Your Desk

Lapis lazuli (also sometimes just called "lapis"), is a metamorphic rock best known for its rich, dark blue color. It also often has stripes, flecks, or bands of gold running throughout. As crystal expert and co-founder of Energy Muse Jewelry, Heather Askinosie, tells mindbodygreen, lapis lazuli can be found in Afghanistan, Argentina, Chile, Italy, Russia and the United States.

"This intense blue crystal has an endless list of associations with legends, royalty, and deities from cultures all over the world," she explains. Most notably, Ancient Chinese and Greek civilizations adored lapis lazuli carvings, and it was often ground into a powder form and used to create eyeshadow in ancient Egypt, according to Askinosie.

This stone was also traditionally used in burial ornaments in Neolithic civilizations because of its value, rarity, and healing properties, she notes.

And nowadays, it's still revered by crystal enthusiasts all over the world.

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Similar to being empowering, this stone can also drum up motivation when you're struggling to get started. As Askinosie notes, "It helps to instill motivation and self assurance, and whatever you need to do to empower yourself to follow your own sense of direction."

To that end, she adds, it's especially helpful if you're feeling outside influences and pressures to do something you don't want to do. "It helps you to realize your authority in your own life, and if you find yourself looking to others for permission, lapis lazuli can help you look no further than yourself and remind you that you are in charge of creating your own life," she says.

3.

It supports the throat and third-eye chakras

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According to spiritual author Emma Mildon, crystals can always be worn as jewelry to keep their energy with you all day, and since lapis lazuli relates to the throat chakra, she suggests wearing it as a necklace.

"Call on crystals that you can program with the intention to speak honestly, like truth stones lapis lazuli, turquoise, or amazonite. They're best worn as necklaces as reminders to have the courage to speak your truth," she previously wrote for mindbodygreen.

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4.

Incorporate it into a crystal grid or altar

Altars and crystal grids are amazing tools for working with any intention or manifestation. Crystal grids involve strategically placing your crystals in a geometric pattern to amplify their properties, and similarly, your altar can include a number of different spiritual tools that relate to whatever your intention is.

If you've never made either before, here's out guide to creating an altar space, plus our guide to making a crystal grid, to help you get started.

5.

Keep some in your bedroom

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Lapis lazuli pairs well with a number of different stones, and especially ones that are associated with the throat or third-eye chakras.

As Askinosie tells mindbodygreen, she likes to pair it with pyrite for prosperity, and amethyst for boosting intuition. Some other good stones for the third-eye include sodalite, labradorite, lepidolite, and fluorite, and for the throat chakra, consider celestite, blue lace agate, turquoise, and aquamarine.

When it comes to cleansing and charging your lapis lazuli, any of your preferred methods will do the trick. This stone has a hardness between 5 and 6 on the Mohs scale, so it's safe to be cleansed with water (though you shouldn't leave it submerged very long, just to be safe).

Some of the most common methods of cleansing and charging include sun and moonlight, smudging with smoke, using sound, or even your own breath.

Here's our guide to cleansing and charging crystals for more ideas.