The Stones of Light - Part 3: The Sastun

 The Sastun 

Pictured: Sastun of a Mayan Shamanic Healer  (Source: Youtube) 

The Sastun (pronounced Sas-Tune) comes from the spiritual beliefs and practices of the Ancient Mayans. It is a magical tool used by their H'men (Shaman) to heal, divine (diagnose illness), and cast spells. It's name means "Stone of Light" or "Light of the Ages". However, I have read another meaning of the name Sastun is "Clear Stone". 

The Sastun takes many forms, shapes, and sizes. They can be large or small, round or oblong.  Some are actual crystals, others are rocks, or they can be something as ordinary as a child's marble. One thing, however, they have in common is that they "have a light that sparkles when it moves and you can peer into it as a mirror. You may find dots, lines, crosses, Virgins, and rainbows that give you answers. If you have the lamp to see it." 

A Sastun isn't something you can just go to a store and purchase - they cannot be bought or taken, but rather they are a gift from the Nine Celestial beings at the core of Mayan culture. To receive a Sastun from the Mayan Spirits is a sign that you are a special person who has been chosen to act as a healer and diviner for your people. Many people pray for one but only few actually receive a Sastun. 

In most cases that I have read the individual simply finds their Sastun - that is, one moment is it not there and the next it is. There have been some reports of individuals receiving their Sastun by it being given to them from another person. In these cases it is believed that the Mayan Spirits used that person as a carrier. Finally, in some cases a person can have more than one Sastun with each one serving a specific purpose. For example, one Sastun for divining illness and another for casting spells. In her book, Sastun: My Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer, Rosita Arvigo describes one of her mentor's Sastun's as a "green marble". 

Rosita Arvigo also describes the rituals to activate and use the Sastun for healing, divination, and spellcasting as taught to her by her teacher and mentor Don Elijio Panti. For instance, the prayer below is recited nine times while bathing your Sastun in rum and making the sign of the cross over the stone. It should be noted that  the cross here symbolizes the Mayan World Tree. Next, go to sleep with the crystal near you or beneath your pillow, waiting for a dream that will show you how to use it.

“Sastun, Sastun. With your great power I ask that you tell me all I want to know. Teach me to understand signs. Visit me in all my dreams Give me the answers that I seek. I have faith that this Sastun will answer all my prayers. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, amen”. 

However, my research seems to indicate that the use of a Sastun is a highly individual experience and that, like other magical stones such as the Rukschtee of Bracherei, the stone teaches you how it is to be used. Further instruction on how to use the Sastun may also be given by the Mayan Spirits through one's dreams. 

The Sastun is mainly used to divine illness by way of scrying (crystal gazing) with the stone. In some cases the diviner may see images in the stone itself, they may see pictures in their head, or they may psychically hear a voice giving them advice and instruction while scrying with the stone. 

As stated earlier, the Sastun can also be used to cast spells. In one instance, a woman comes to Don Elijio Panti asking him to return her brother who has gone missing. Don Elijio Panti places a photograph of the man, provided by his sister, in his left hand. He then places the Sastun on top of the photo and places his right hand on top of the Sastun. He then swirls the Sastun in circles around the photo while offering a prayer for the man's return. He uses a similar method to empower his herbal amulets and cast love spells. 

When not in use, Don Elijio Panti is said to keep his Sastun in a ceramic jar with a rag used as a lid. Another healer is said to keep her Sastun in a leather pouch which she carries with her. 

My Experience with the Sastun 

In May of 2020, I was making a video for my Youtube channel. I was filming a video on how to harvest, dry, and use dandelion root. I finished the video, but continued to harvest more roots to dry for later use. While working outside, I came across this green marble thought it was cool and tucked in my pocket to keep. I had read Rosita Arvigo's book some years earlier and somehow I made the connection between my marble and the story of the Sastun. 

I performed the prescribed rituals as outlined in the book to bless and activate the Sastun. Since that time, I have used it to divine, cast spells, and perform healing work in addition to other uses it has taught me.  In one instance, I successfully called back a lost lover by taking the Sastun and rolling it counter-clockwise around his photo (like reeling in a fish) while calling him back to me in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 

- Carolina Dean 

Further Reading 

• Marble: Story of a Sastun (Youtube Video) 
• Sastun: My Apprenticeship with a Mayan Healer, Rosita Arvigo 
• Hoodoo & Conjure Quarterly: New Orleans