Jami is a crystal shop run by a sweet couple called João and Ida Ametista. They write into The Portugal News every month and slowly but surely ease us into the deep world of crystals - giving us one sparkly stone to reflect on at a time.

Their shop, located in downtown Faro, is usually an Aladdin's cave of all kinds of weird and wonderful gemstones. However, after their little girl Luz was born last Christmas, they decided to shut the shop for a few months to get to grips with being first time parents - and to create more space to come back with even more crystals.

The work is taking longer than expected, but we’ll be sure to let you know when they reopen. In the meantime, you can still order their crystals online and if you would like to find out more please follow them on Facebook (@Jami - Healing Energy) or Instagram (@jami_minerals) or visit their website www.jami.pt.

Now, without further ado, on with this month's crystal…

Septaria

The septarian nodules are not crystals but rocks called concretions and are more than 50 million years old. Inside they contain what’s called mineral precipitation, including Calcite and sometimes Siderite and Pyrite.

They are very connected to the earth and therefore act directly on our root chakra and are great for helping us feel more grounded while meditating. It allows us to calm down and gives us a feeling of comfort, as if we were being embraced by the earth.

The crystal also helps in self-healing. It creates and develops processes that help us change or transform our attitude so that we can heal. You can also use it to make a fantastic elixir.

On a physical level, Septaria improves flexibility and movement and can be used while doing yoga, pilates, or even simple stretching.

Another of Septaria's great abilities is to help with public speaking and it can be combined with aquamarine for this purpose.

Septaria is the stone of fulfilment. And since very soon we hope to achieve our goal of opening our new shop, we have been using Septaria to help bring peace and harmony at this time of great change and transformation. We have been doing what you might call ‘a ritual of fulfilment’. It works like this:

● Write down all your goals down on a piece of paper and put a pyrite crystal on top.

● Meditate with a crystal like chrysocolla or ocean jasper.

● Perform a visualisation meditation holding a piece of Septaria in your hand and express gratitude for having time to yourself.

It's a simple exercise that requires no more than 10 to 20 minutes a day. And when it all comes to fruition? We thank our crystals and place them in a special place in our house.