NOTE: It seems like more and more people are using pieces of this thread and even the entire thread on other sites. Wolfsong has no problem with people doing this but he would ask that you give him credit somewhere within your site. It took years of work for him to compile this and he would appreciate you honoring this small request of his.
the rest are his words.
I desided it would be fun to break down quartz properties based on thier formations. To facilitate this I have dug through my quartz and photographed the differant formations and attached to each one a very basic outline of that particular formation's properties. The outlines are very basic as I wanted them to be. This thread is only meant to give basic information and to give you a visual idea as to what each formation looks like. If any formation sparks an interest I would encourage you to seek out more information. I'm sure everyone here would be more than willing to help out.
That being said lets get the ball rolling
Quartz
Quartz is one of the most common compounds in the Earth's crust and can also be found in meteorites as well as moon rocks. Throughout history it has had gemstone, spiritual, ornamental and collecting uses. In modern times you find quartz in many everyday items including sandpaper, ceramics, soap, clocks, computers, radios and much more. In electrical tests it was shown to produce regular electrical pulses and field changes which inventors could predict. It was the first crystal used in radio wave transceivers, is used in watches and time pieces, and was essential in the development of computers.
For spiritualists and spiritual healers no stone is as essential to thier craft as Quartz. Embodying all the qualities they seek, it is the quintessential healing crystal. It is believed that its crystal formation can align the harmonies within the human body, that the crystal can be programmed easily, that acupuncture needles coated with Quartz are more effective, and that it has the ability to send and receive energy. It is without a doubt the crystal most widely used within the pagan community for almost any conceivable purpose.
Geological Side of Quartz
Clear Quartz is composed of Silicon and Oxygen, the Earth's most common elements. Any impurities are generally trace elements of Aluminum, Lithium, Potassium or Sodium.
Quartz has a hexagonal crystal structure made of trigonal crystalized silica (silicon diaxiade, SiO2). It has a hardness of 7 and its density is 2.65 g/cm3. The primary microcrystalline crystal classification of Quatrz is trigonal, containing four axes, three of which intersect to form a plane intersected by the forth. Based on impurities or disruptions of the formation process, samples may contain encrustations and phantom crystals. The most important distinction between types of quartz is that of individual crystals visible to the unaided eye (macrocrystalline) and aggregates of crystals visible only under high powered magnification (cryptocrytalline). Even though historically quartz has been named due to its coloration, current scientific naming refers primarily to the microstructure of the mineral. Color is the secondary identifier for cryptocrystalline structures and the primary identifier of the macrocrystalline structures. Even this however doesnt always hold true.
The name Quartz comes from the German Quarz which is of Slavic origin. Others say the name comes from the Saxon Querkluftertz meaning cross-vien ore.
Quartz also creates electricity through a process called piezoelectricity when mechanical stress is applied to it.
Amethyst: In the 20th century the color of amethyst was said to be cause by the presence of manganese. Since it is capable of being greatly altered by heat however, the color was believed by some to be from an organic source. Both sulfur and ferric thiocyanate were said to have been detected. In 2005 it was discovered that impurity atoms are responsible for the color of amethyst. Amethyst is composed of an irregular superposition of alternate lamellae of right-handed and left-handed quartz. Because of this amethyst breaks with a ripple fracture. Some mineralogists apply the name of amethyst to all quartz with this structure regardless of the color.
Citrine: Citrine contains ferric iron impurities and is rarely found naturally. Most commercial citrine is actually artificially heated amethyst or smokey quartz.
Milky Quartz: The whiteness of this quartz is caused by inclusions of minute gas and/or water bubbles.
Rose Quartz: The color is due to trace amounts of titanium, iron or manganese. Some Rose Quartz contains microscopic rutile needles which produces an asterism in transmitted light. Recently X-ray diffraction studies suggest that the color is due to thin microscopic fibers of dumortierite. When found in crystal form the color is thought to be due to trace amounts of phosphate or aluminium. The color is photosensitive and may fade over time.
Shocked Quartz: This is a form of quartz that has a microscopic structure that is different from normal quartz. Under intense pressure the crystal structure of quartz becomes deformed along planes inside the crystal. These planes show up as lines which are called shock lamellae.
Smokey Quartz: The coloration in smokey quartz is caused through the natural irradication of aluminium-containing rock crystal. When it becomes very dark brown to black opaque it is known as morion.
Crystals may also contain prisms or form as twinned, doubly terminated, healed, generator, tabular, faden-lined, windowed, time line, record keeper, channeling, isis, bridge, dow, elestial, grounding, extra terrestrial, Japanese law twin, key, barnicle formations and more.
Quartz In History
It is safe to say that Quartz has been collected since the earliest humans came into contact with it. Prehistoric burial sites contain many items and amoung them can be found Quartz. Quartz, to these early humans, must have seemed as gifts from nature and its clarity, beauty, and geometric perfection could only have instilled awe and reverance amoungst these cultures.
Natural caves that contained Quartz, wherever they existed, became attractors for healers and sacred work around the world. These healers and the people who carried out this work are now for the most part called shamans.
In ancient Egypt, glazed Quartz surved as a substitute when no high quatlity Turquoise could be found.
The Greeks had originally named Quartz Krystallos, the word for ice, but this soon came to mean any crystal.
Pliny the Elder believed Quartz was permanently frozen ice. His belief in this came from his idea that Quartz was to be found near claciers in the Alps and the fact that large Quartz crystals were fashioned into spheres to cool the hands.
In China's Ming Dynasty, Quartz was often seen in jewelery.
In Pre-Columbia, explorations of Mixtec graves have uncovered Quartz used for ear jewelery.
In European history, Queen Elizabeth 1's spiritualist's crystal ball was Smokey Quartz which is also the national gem of Scotland who's national scepter included a large Smokey Quartz on top. European royalty in the 18th and 19th centuries went through a Quartz collecting "fad". In some cases this was the beginning of mineral collections now found in museums throughout Europe.
The British believed that nine Quartz collected from a brook and boiled in water from the same brook would impart healing energies to the water.
North American Indians used Quartz for ritual work and jewelry. Arrowheads, knives, and ornamental objects made of Quartz have been found throughout North America. Quartz crystals mounted on ceremonial bojects have been found in California. The Cherokee used them for divining as well as a charm for hunting. After a successful hunt they would rejuventate its powers by cleansing it in deer blood. The Hottentots used sharpened Quartz objects for sacrificing animals and circumcising young boys.
In Australia the Aranda were known to initiate healers by rubbing thier bodies with Quartz to the point of causing abrasions. They would press crystals into his scalp and then proceed to other stages of the initiation including pearcing and tattooing.
In places such as the Malay Peninsala, Australia, South America and to a lesser extent Siberia the shaman places Quartz into the initiate's head with the belief that they will eat out the initiate's brains and eyes and replace them thus becoming thier strength. In other cases the Quartz symbolizes the healers' helping spirits.
I find it amazing that in all of the places above as well as within most cultures around the world Quartz was believed to carry within it the spirits of everything ranging from ancestors, animals, spirit guides and so on. And in all these areas these spirits were consulted to help with healing, finding souls and most importantly, initiatory rites. It was for these reasons that all of these cultures to some extent placed Quartz within the bodies of thier most sacred and trusted healers. What better way to access these spirits than to implant them into your physical body and truely become one with them. In some cases if a healer had undergone the proceedure of having Quartz placed within his body, after his death, the Quartz would be removed and reinserted into his favorite student.
The use of Quartz on all levels of existance can be found throughout the world and throughout its cultures. Although some cultures delved deeper than others if one searches hard enough evidence of its use will be found world wide, both in the past as well as in the present.
Shamanism
The word shaman has its origin in manchu-tangu and has reached the ethnologic vocabulary through Russian. The word originated from saman (xaman), derived from the verb scha-, "to know", so shaman means someone who knows. Further ethnologic research shows that the true origin for the word Shaman can be tracked from the Sanskrit initially, then through Chinese-Buddhist mediation to the manchu-tangu, indicating a much deeper connection between early Buddhism and Shamanism. In Sanskrit it is Sramana translated to something like "buddhist monk". The intermediate Chinese term is scha-men. The Siberian and Central Asian peoples also had local terms for the Shaman. In alataic Turkish it was kam, in Yacuto, ojon, in the Butirates, boo, and in Central Asia, bakshi, for the Samoans, tadibe, Lapps, moita, Finnish, tieojo and Hungarians, taltos.
Definitions of "Shaman" vary around the world. Here are a few.
"Indigenous healer who deliberately alters his consciousness in order to obtain knowledge and power from the world of the spirits in order to help and cure the members of his tribe" (S. Krippner, 1990)
The Ojibway, speaking of the Midewiwin, a Secret Ojibwa Medicine Society: "It is the person, man or woman, who experiences, absorbs, and communicates a special form of support, of healing power" (A. Grimm, 1987)
"He who knows the archaic techniques of ecstasy" (M. Eliade, 1972)
"A person to whom special powers are attributed for communicating with the spirits and influence them dissociating his soul from his body. The spirits help him do his chores which include discovering the cause of sickness, hunger and any disgrace, and prescribing an appropriate cure. They are found among the Siberians and other Asiatic people; his activity also evolves among many other religions and with other names." (The Cambridge Encyclopedia, 1990)
"The eternal art of living in harmony with creation." (J. Matthews, 1991)
"There are three key elements for defining Shamans:
1) They can voluntarily enter altered states of consciousness
2) In these states they can feel themselves "travel".
3) They use these journeys as a method of acquiring knowledge or power and for helping the people of their community." (R. N. Walsch, 1990)
Shamanism, although not considered a religion today by its practitioners, is thought by some scholers to be the oldest religion in the world dating back 100,000 years or more. Shamans are considered masters at achieving altered states of consciousness and use these journeys to identify and heal individuals both mentaly and physically. Shamans are also looked at as being at one with nature and using plants and other materials such as Quartz to carry out thier work. They are catalysts of social evolution ever seeking to bring about change through magic and ritual in a natural environment.
Animatism
One cannot talk about Shamanism or any type of nature work without touching on the concept of "animatism". The word was first brought to us by an anthropologist named R.R. Marret who 100 years ago proposed that the origin of spiritual awareness was to be found amoungst indigenous peoples' widespread belief in a supernatural power that pervades and animates all things. He called this belief "animatism". Examples of this are found worldwide. Amoungst the Algonquins it is known as "manitou", Muslims called it "baraka", Chinese "Chi", Hindus "prana", Polynesians "mana", and the Kalahari Bushmen referred to this invisible force as "num". It was the cause of extraordinary events, both good and bad luck and unusual powers. All cultures believed that this force existed throughout the universe and that certain areas and objects tended to concentrate this energy. Most everyone today believes in the existence of this power. Shamans and natural healers however know with certainty that this energy is real. Indigenous cultures world wide agree that this power can be transmitted through touch, that it may be used for good and evil, that it can be absorbed through proximity, and that it can be stored in objects such as Quartz.
Mythology
In mythology the ancient Japanese, who revered Dragons as a major part of their creation myths, believed Quartz formed from the breath of a white dragon. To them, Quartz was representative of perfection, which, while unattainable, was worthy of pursuit. Indian culture believed it could detect food poisoning. Quartz played essential roles in the rain rituals of Native Americans and Australian Aboriginals. Daramulun, an Australian sky god is usually portrayed with a mouth full of Quartz, a huge phallus, and carrying a stone axe. Quartz also graced the temples of the ancient Chinese. In western culture, Christian relics were often made of Quartz and many thought it was ice in a fossilized form. The Greeks believed that Amor and Eros brought Rose Quartz to earth.
Cleansing Crystals
When one first recieves a crystal it is a good idea to spend some time cleansing it. There are many processes for this and here I will mention only a few. Most methods are accomplished with the use of ritual but some prefer to let nature alone do the process and after this is done to do a ritual which acknowledges the new bond being created.
Water: Some cleanse their crystals using water. This can be done by allowing the crystal to sit submerged in water for a set period of time ranging from a few hours to days. Some prefer a river with flowing water to "wash away" old unwanted energies. Others prefer a bowl of distilled water while still others prefer consecrated water.
Earth: Just as with water some prefer to bury their crystal in the earth for a set period of time. The time may vary just as mentioned above for water. Here one believes that the earth herself will absorb all unwanted energies.
Sun and/or Moon: Just as with water and earth some choose to cleanse thier crystals using the energies of the sun and the moon. In both cases the crystals are left within sight of the sun or the moon for a set period of time. Some may take into account the solar or lunar cycles as well.
Elements: At times people prefer a ritual which presents the crystal to the elements and asks each element to cleanse the crystal in specific ways related to the element.
As is often the case many choose to combine aspects of the above to create thier own cleansing ritual. It must always be remembered that with all ritual work there is no right or wrong. The only thing that matters is that it works for you. The following is how I cleanse my stones and I encourage people to try it if it fits thier beliefs.
When I first recieve a crystal, no matter if I bought it or if I found it, I take a few minutes to wash it in distilled water or in a nearby source of natural water. I then take some time to scan the crystal to learn if it is male or female. During this process the crystal has its first chance to scan me as well and it is through this first contact that the foundations are built for your relationship with it. I try not to project and feelings or emotions into it but allow myself to open completely to it thus allowing it to search within me. At this point, depending if the crystal is male or female I allow it to sit either under the light of the sun or the moon. If it is the moon I do this during the 3 day cycle of the full moon and if it is the sun on any day when it is sunny. If a crystal has come to me close to the summer solstice I try to cleanse it that day but unfortuneately this only happens for a small percentage of my crystals. No matter what however every summer solstice all my male stones get to spend the day basking in its glory. (A personal note, much of my work revolves around the sun and the moon, thier cycles and thier energies. I was born on June 21, 1959 in the early morning hours so not only was this the summer solstice but for that particular year and that particular day it was also the one of the days of the full moon cycle. When I share this with people most look at me and comment "well that explains a lot" and then throw me a sly smile) Once this process is complete I once again spend time in meditation with the crystal to try and sense its cleansed energies. This ends the cleansing for me but my work has just begun. Now comes the process of learning from each other and harmonizing our energies. My process is not short or convienient at times but it works for me. I encourage everyone to seek out a system which works for them for it is this work which will form the cornerstone of your relationship with any stone.
Quartz Formations and the Properties they Exibit
Esoteric Commonalities Amoungst Quartz: For healing it is considered a Master Healer. It amplifies healing energies and is commonly used for diagnostic work. It strengthens the body as well as improves stamina and mental engergies. It effectively treats intestinal troubles, bone injuries, arthritis, fatigue and depression. Its associated with the crown chakra but is also useful for balancing and alining all chakras.
When discussing healing with quartz it is important to understand the belief beind this process. It is commonly believed that disease or discomfort caused within the physical body is at least in part due to the disruption or unbalancing of energies within the etheric bodies. If one can re-establish or bring balance to this energy healing will more easily take place. With the help of crystals one can bring into effect the harmonizing of the body's energy fields.
To understand the use of Quartz in healing a little more intimately one must also understand the four magor brainwave patterns and the role they play within healing.
The Beta wave exists when the mind is conscious and on average cycles twenty-one times per second.
the rest are his words.
I desided it would be fun to break down quartz properties based on thier formations. To facilitate this I have dug through my quartz and photographed the differant formations and attached to each one a very basic outline of that particular formation's properties. The outlines are very basic as I wanted them to be. This thread is only meant to give basic information and to give you a visual idea as to what each formation looks like. If any formation sparks an interest I would encourage you to seek out more information. I'm sure everyone here would be more than willing to help out.
That being said lets get the ball rolling
Quartz
Quartz is one of the most common compounds in the Earth's crust and can also be found in meteorites as well as moon rocks. Throughout history it has had gemstone, spiritual, ornamental and collecting uses. In modern times you find quartz in many everyday items including sandpaper, ceramics, soap, clocks, computers, radios and much more. In electrical tests it was shown to produce regular electrical pulses and field changes which inventors could predict. It was the first crystal used in radio wave transceivers, is used in watches and time pieces, and was essential in the development of computers.
For spiritualists and spiritual healers no stone is as essential to thier craft as Quartz. Embodying all the qualities they seek, it is the quintessential healing crystal. It is believed that its crystal formation can align the harmonies within the human body, that the crystal can be programmed easily, that acupuncture needles coated with Quartz are more effective, and that it has the ability to send and receive energy. It is without a doubt the crystal most widely used within the pagan community for almost any conceivable purpose.
Geological Side of Quartz
Clear Quartz is composed of Silicon and Oxygen, the Earth's most common elements. Any impurities are generally trace elements of Aluminum, Lithium, Potassium or Sodium.
Quartz has a hexagonal crystal structure made of trigonal crystalized silica (silicon diaxiade, SiO2). It has a hardness of 7 and its density is 2.65 g/cm3. The primary microcrystalline crystal classification of Quatrz is trigonal, containing four axes, three of which intersect to form a plane intersected by the forth. Based on impurities or disruptions of the formation process, samples may contain encrustations and phantom crystals. The most important distinction between types of quartz is that of individual crystals visible to the unaided eye (macrocrystalline) and aggregates of crystals visible only under high powered magnification (cryptocrytalline). Even though historically quartz has been named due to its coloration, current scientific naming refers primarily to the microstructure of the mineral. Color is the secondary identifier for cryptocrystalline structures and the primary identifier of the macrocrystalline structures. Even this however doesnt always hold true.
The name Quartz comes from the German Quarz which is of Slavic origin. Others say the name comes from the Saxon Querkluftertz meaning cross-vien ore.
Quartz also creates electricity through a process called piezoelectricity when mechanical stress is applied to it.
Amethyst: In the 20th century the color of amethyst was said to be cause by the presence of manganese. Since it is capable of being greatly altered by heat however, the color was believed by some to be from an organic source. Both sulfur and ferric thiocyanate were said to have been detected. In 2005 it was discovered that impurity atoms are responsible for the color of amethyst. Amethyst is composed of an irregular superposition of alternate lamellae of right-handed and left-handed quartz. Because of this amethyst breaks with a ripple fracture. Some mineralogists apply the name of amethyst to all quartz with this structure regardless of the color.
Citrine: Citrine contains ferric iron impurities and is rarely found naturally. Most commercial citrine is actually artificially heated amethyst or smokey quartz.
Milky Quartz: The whiteness of this quartz is caused by inclusions of minute gas and/or water bubbles.
Rose Quartz: The color is due to trace amounts of titanium, iron or manganese. Some Rose Quartz contains microscopic rutile needles which produces an asterism in transmitted light. Recently X-ray diffraction studies suggest that the color is due to thin microscopic fibers of dumortierite. When found in crystal form the color is thought to be due to trace amounts of phosphate or aluminium. The color is photosensitive and may fade over time.
Shocked Quartz: This is a form of quartz that has a microscopic structure that is different from normal quartz. Under intense pressure the crystal structure of quartz becomes deformed along planes inside the crystal. These planes show up as lines which are called shock lamellae.
Smokey Quartz: The coloration in smokey quartz is caused through the natural irradication of aluminium-containing rock crystal. When it becomes very dark brown to black opaque it is known as morion.
Crystals may also contain prisms or form as twinned, doubly terminated, healed, generator, tabular, faden-lined, windowed, time line, record keeper, channeling, isis, bridge, dow, elestial, grounding, extra terrestrial, Japanese law twin, key, barnicle formations and more.
Quartz In History
It is safe to say that Quartz has been collected since the earliest humans came into contact with it. Prehistoric burial sites contain many items and amoung them can be found Quartz. Quartz, to these early humans, must have seemed as gifts from nature and its clarity, beauty, and geometric perfection could only have instilled awe and reverance amoungst these cultures.
Natural caves that contained Quartz, wherever they existed, became attractors for healers and sacred work around the world. These healers and the people who carried out this work are now for the most part called shamans.
In ancient Egypt, glazed Quartz surved as a substitute when no high quatlity Turquoise could be found.
The Greeks had originally named Quartz Krystallos, the word for ice, but this soon came to mean any crystal.
Pliny the Elder believed Quartz was permanently frozen ice. His belief in this came from his idea that Quartz was to be found near claciers in the Alps and the fact that large Quartz crystals were fashioned into spheres to cool the hands.
In China's Ming Dynasty, Quartz was often seen in jewelery.
In Pre-Columbia, explorations of Mixtec graves have uncovered Quartz used for ear jewelery.
In European history, Queen Elizabeth 1's spiritualist's crystal ball was Smokey Quartz which is also the national gem of Scotland who's national scepter included a large Smokey Quartz on top. European royalty in the 18th and 19th centuries went through a Quartz collecting "fad". In some cases this was the beginning of mineral collections now found in museums throughout Europe.
The British believed that nine Quartz collected from a brook and boiled in water from the same brook would impart healing energies to the water.
North American Indians used Quartz for ritual work and jewelry. Arrowheads, knives, and ornamental objects made of Quartz have been found throughout North America. Quartz crystals mounted on ceremonial bojects have been found in California. The Cherokee used them for divining as well as a charm for hunting. After a successful hunt they would rejuventate its powers by cleansing it in deer blood. The Hottentots used sharpened Quartz objects for sacrificing animals and circumcising young boys.
In Australia the Aranda were known to initiate healers by rubbing thier bodies with Quartz to the point of causing abrasions. They would press crystals into his scalp and then proceed to other stages of the initiation including pearcing and tattooing.
In places such as the Malay Peninsala, Australia, South America and to a lesser extent Siberia the shaman places Quartz into the initiate's head with the belief that they will eat out the initiate's brains and eyes and replace them thus becoming thier strength. In other cases the Quartz symbolizes the healers' helping spirits.
I find it amazing that in all of the places above as well as within most cultures around the world Quartz was believed to carry within it the spirits of everything ranging from ancestors, animals, spirit guides and so on. And in all these areas these spirits were consulted to help with healing, finding souls and most importantly, initiatory rites. It was for these reasons that all of these cultures to some extent placed Quartz within the bodies of thier most sacred and trusted healers. What better way to access these spirits than to implant them into your physical body and truely become one with them. In some cases if a healer had undergone the proceedure of having Quartz placed within his body, after his death, the Quartz would be removed and reinserted into his favorite student.
The use of Quartz on all levels of existance can be found throughout the world and throughout its cultures. Although some cultures delved deeper than others if one searches hard enough evidence of its use will be found world wide, both in the past as well as in the present.
Shamanism
The word shaman has its origin in manchu-tangu and has reached the ethnologic vocabulary through Russian. The word originated from saman (xaman), derived from the verb scha-, "to know", so shaman means someone who knows. Further ethnologic research shows that the true origin for the word Shaman can be tracked from the Sanskrit initially, then through Chinese-Buddhist mediation to the manchu-tangu, indicating a much deeper connection between early Buddhism and Shamanism. In Sanskrit it is Sramana translated to something like "buddhist monk". The intermediate Chinese term is scha-men. The Siberian and Central Asian peoples also had local terms for the Shaman. In alataic Turkish it was kam, in Yacuto, ojon, in the Butirates, boo, and in Central Asia, bakshi, for the Samoans, tadibe, Lapps, moita, Finnish, tieojo and Hungarians, taltos.
Definitions of "Shaman" vary around the world. Here are a few.
"Indigenous healer who deliberately alters his consciousness in order to obtain knowledge and power from the world of the spirits in order to help and cure the members of his tribe" (S. Krippner, 1990)
The Ojibway, speaking of the Midewiwin, a Secret Ojibwa Medicine Society: "It is the person, man or woman, who experiences, absorbs, and communicates a special form of support, of healing power" (A. Grimm, 1987)
"He who knows the archaic techniques of ecstasy" (M. Eliade, 1972)
"A person to whom special powers are attributed for communicating with the spirits and influence them dissociating his soul from his body. The spirits help him do his chores which include discovering the cause of sickness, hunger and any disgrace, and prescribing an appropriate cure. They are found among the Siberians and other Asiatic people; his activity also evolves among many other religions and with other names." (The Cambridge Encyclopedia, 1990)
"The eternal art of living in harmony with creation." (J. Matthews, 1991)
"There are three key elements for defining Shamans:
1) They can voluntarily enter altered states of consciousness
2) In these states they can feel themselves "travel".
3) They use these journeys as a method of acquiring knowledge or power and for helping the people of their community." (R. N. Walsch, 1990)
Shamanism, although not considered a religion today by its practitioners, is thought by some scholers to be the oldest religion in the world dating back 100,000 years or more. Shamans are considered masters at achieving altered states of consciousness and use these journeys to identify and heal individuals both mentaly and physically. Shamans are also looked at as being at one with nature and using plants and other materials such as Quartz to carry out thier work. They are catalysts of social evolution ever seeking to bring about change through magic and ritual in a natural environment.
Animatism
One cannot talk about Shamanism or any type of nature work without touching on the concept of "animatism". The word was first brought to us by an anthropologist named R.R. Marret who 100 years ago proposed that the origin of spiritual awareness was to be found amoungst indigenous peoples' widespread belief in a supernatural power that pervades and animates all things. He called this belief "animatism". Examples of this are found worldwide. Amoungst the Algonquins it is known as "manitou", Muslims called it "baraka", Chinese "Chi", Hindus "prana", Polynesians "mana", and the Kalahari Bushmen referred to this invisible force as "num". It was the cause of extraordinary events, both good and bad luck and unusual powers. All cultures believed that this force existed throughout the universe and that certain areas and objects tended to concentrate this energy. Most everyone today believes in the existence of this power. Shamans and natural healers however know with certainty that this energy is real. Indigenous cultures world wide agree that this power can be transmitted through touch, that it may be used for good and evil, that it can be absorbed through proximity, and that it can be stored in objects such as Quartz.
Mythology
In mythology the ancient Japanese, who revered Dragons as a major part of their creation myths, believed Quartz formed from the breath of a white dragon. To them, Quartz was representative of perfection, which, while unattainable, was worthy of pursuit. Indian culture believed it could detect food poisoning. Quartz played essential roles in the rain rituals of Native Americans and Australian Aboriginals. Daramulun, an Australian sky god is usually portrayed with a mouth full of Quartz, a huge phallus, and carrying a stone axe. Quartz also graced the temples of the ancient Chinese. In western culture, Christian relics were often made of Quartz and many thought it was ice in a fossilized form. The Greeks believed that Amor and Eros brought Rose Quartz to earth.
Cleansing Crystals
When one first recieves a crystal it is a good idea to spend some time cleansing it. There are many processes for this and here I will mention only a few. Most methods are accomplished with the use of ritual but some prefer to let nature alone do the process and after this is done to do a ritual which acknowledges the new bond being created.
Water: Some cleanse their crystals using water. This can be done by allowing the crystal to sit submerged in water for a set period of time ranging from a few hours to days. Some prefer a river with flowing water to "wash away" old unwanted energies. Others prefer a bowl of distilled water while still others prefer consecrated water.
Earth: Just as with water some prefer to bury their crystal in the earth for a set period of time. The time may vary just as mentioned above for water. Here one believes that the earth herself will absorb all unwanted energies.
Sun and/or Moon: Just as with water and earth some choose to cleanse thier crystals using the energies of the sun and the moon. In both cases the crystals are left within sight of the sun or the moon for a set period of time. Some may take into account the solar or lunar cycles as well.
Elements: At times people prefer a ritual which presents the crystal to the elements and asks each element to cleanse the crystal in specific ways related to the element.
As is often the case many choose to combine aspects of the above to create thier own cleansing ritual. It must always be remembered that with all ritual work there is no right or wrong. The only thing that matters is that it works for you. The following is how I cleanse my stones and I encourage people to try it if it fits thier beliefs.
When I first recieve a crystal, no matter if I bought it or if I found it, I take a few minutes to wash it in distilled water or in a nearby source of natural water. I then take some time to scan the crystal to learn if it is male or female. During this process the crystal has its first chance to scan me as well and it is through this first contact that the foundations are built for your relationship with it. I try not to project and feelings or emotions into it but allow myself to open completely to it thus allowing it to search within me. At this point, depending if the crystal is male or female I allow it to sit either under the light of the sun or the moon. If it is the moon I do this during the 3 day cycle of the full moon and if it is the sun on any day when it is sunny. If a crystal has come to me close to the summer solstice I try to cleanse it that day but unfortuneately this only happens for a small percentage of my crystals. No matter what however every summer solstice all my male stones get to spend the day basking in its glory. (A personal note, much of my work revolves around the sun and the moon, thier cycles and thier energies. I was born on June 21, 1959 in the early morning hours so not only was this the summer solstice but for that particular year and that particular day it was also the one of the days of the full moon cycle. When I share this with people most look at me and comment "well that explains a lot" and then throw me a sly smile) Once this process is complete I once again spend time in meditation with the crystal to try and sense its cleansed energies. This ends the cleansing for me but my work has just begun. Now comes the process of learning from each other and harmonizing our energies. My process is not short or convienient at times but it works for me. I encourage everyone to seek out a system which works for them for it is this work which will form the cornerstone of your relationship with any stone.
Quartz Formations and the Properties they Exibit
Esoteric Commonalities Amoungst Quartz: For healing it is considered a Master Healer. It amplifies healing energies and is commonly used for diagnostic work. It strengthens the body as well as improves stamina and mental engergies. It effectively treats intestinal troubles, bone injuries, arthritis, fatigue and depression. Its associated with the crown chakra but is also useful for balancing and alining all chakras.
When discussing healing with quartz it is important to understand the belief beind this process. It is commonly believed that disease or discomfort caused within the physical body is at least in part due to the disruption or unbalancing of energies within the etheric bodies. If one can re-establish or bring balance to this energy healing will more easily take place. With the help of crystals one can bring into effect the harmonizing of the body's energy fields.
To understand the use of Quartz in healing a little more intimately one must also understand the four magor brainwave patterns and the role they play within healing.
The Beta wave exists when the mind is conscious and on average cycles twenty-one times per second.
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