My Opinion on Healing Stones (Pov Haum)

What happens when an electrical outlet has too many plugged in at once? Overloading a circuit can cause fires and explosions. This is a good metaphor for when we use or obtain too many magical or energy stones, otherwise known as "pov haum." Some stones, gems, and amulets are a covenant for storing and casting charged energy. As we know, energy can be both good or bad (negative or positive) and we can use this energy to harness specific actions such as healing. Other uses for these pov haum can be used as an acting magnet for luck, good health, wealth, and much more.

Stones have energy. And like energy, some are positive charged, neutral, and some are negative charged. Neutral stones have a potential to become negative or positive, depending on what's attached and who's using it. There's a sense of compatibility to these gemstones too. If you aren't compatible with a gem or a stone, it can cause unfortunate series of events to happen. It can cause sickness, mood changes, and a shift in your path. However, when you are compatible with a stone or a gem, people believe this can cause good fortune, luck, good health, and a cultivation of positive energy. There's no true way to know which stones you are compatible with. As a Hmong shaman, I have seen through friends, family, and clients that get sick or experience unfortunate events because of these stones.

Natural forming rocks, stones, wood, or even animal bones all contain a spirit. Especially true for animal bones, dinosaur bones, fossils, etc, as these once contained life, it's bones serve as a vessel of life. Much similar to human spirits, the spirit of the animal remains with their bones. For fossils, dinosaur bones, and ancient animal teeth, these are very ancient and charged souls. This means they are a very old spirit. Containing them, housing them, or owning them can also block them from being able to reincarnate. Their bones hold an ancient soul, an essence that is not meant to be used, worn, or owned by people. When people do decide to use them as relics or pray to them as these supernatural deities, we give worship to them. And much like any form of worship, we must honor them and provide an altar for them. When we decide not to give them an altar and instead wear them as a necklace or keep them in a box or under our pillow, that is when they will also take from us.

Energy gives and takes. We cannot just take from something without it receiving something in return. The entire universe is based on this principal. Even to birth life itself, all babies take their first breath when they enter this world and when we leave this Universe we must release it back by returning our last breath. Hmong shamans must have an altar for their guides in order to use them and practice them. We burn spirit money and joss to our guides and continue to energetically charge them as they also do that for us. Hmong shamans know that if we are to use an animal for a sacrifice, we must release them to be reincarnated at the end of 12 months. We cannot keep them. In fact, all shamans must keep the jawbone of the pig as a form of proof and evidence that we'll release them. If we do not, Hmong shamans will experience tremendous pain and even face death by not returning their spirit back. We burn them spirit money, we give them our promise, and they return the favor to heal our people. For people who own, use, or worship fossils, dinosaur bones, or ancient animal teeth as a healing and/or power relic, these "pov haum" will continue to take from you in ways you don't know or comprehend. They may not come and physically take your wealth, but randomly over the years or months they can cause you to have car problems; which means you'll need a lump of money to fix your cars. Perhaps one random day your furnace goes off, or there's a flood in your basement. You'll need a lump of money to repair these damages. And the worse case yet, some people may find themselves ill or sick over the course of a time, causing them to be unable to go work, bad health, cause relationship problems, divorce, etc. All of which is known as this energy refund that you must give back to your "pov haum."

Rocks and naturally occurring gemstones have lived for hundreds, if not thousands of years. In that time, we do not know where it has been, who has had it, and what it has been used for. Neutrally charged stones, meaning stones that are just stones without any energy particle, can also serve as a home or vessel for many wild spirits, ghosts, and dark entities. Hmong people believe some stones can be homes for poj ntxoog or a wild goblin. Imagine having this gemstone in your home or around your neck as a jewelry... People who practice dark magic can also charge these neutral stones with dark energy or bad karma. They can also trap dead or evil spirits into these rocks or stones and cast them to a person they dislike, causing a great misfortune, sickness, or even death. Truth of the matter is, we have no idea the history of these ancient stones, especially if we buy them from the market. What's even more dangerous is if we find these stones outside and bring them inside our home, especially if we have multiple of these gemstones. Multiple gemstones or rocks can create an intense energy. This is like having multiple outlets being plugged into the same circuit. It will explode. Not all spirits and not all energy get along, some of them are not compatible with each other.

Rocks and gemstones we find in nature (at the park, on a hike, in the woods, nature reserves, at the lake) may serve as a vessel for wild spirits. Furthermore, things like the hair or skin of dead animals, in addition to the shells of crabs, snails, turtle, and tortoises contain that animal spirit. These things are meant to be left outside in nature and not to be kept inside a house.They are their own essence. Imagine capturing and bringing a wild animal into your home and trying to raise it. It will live a poor life and increase the chances of it dying. The same applies for these rocks, gemstones, or shells of animals. If you find a cool looking gemstone, or see a snail shell for sale in the market, leave it alone. Do not bring it inside your home. Do not pray to it. Do not worship it. Its life form and essence was not to be used by people, and so even after its death, its spirit or energy cannot be held captive to people. Humans have a curiosity to want to take things that do not belong to them. We do things without fully understanding it. The truth is, leave the things that are meant to be outside, outside. You do not need to pluck every beautiful flower you see or admire, leave it where it's at. If you see a powerful stone you're drawn to, it's okay to just admire it. Feel it's presence. Appreciate it. Then leave it alone or else you won't be sure of what you're inviting into your life.

-TFL Hmong Shaman