Quartz crystal, also known as rock crystal is a protective, healing, and purifying stone. It is said to clear the mind, increase energy, promote harmony, dispel negativity, and foster patience. It is believed to energize and stabilize the body and mind, and to cleanse and purify the soul. Quartz crystal is said to enhance the healing properties of other stones. Clear quartz is associated with the Zodiac signs of Aries, Pisces, Taurus, Gemini, Leo, and Libra, and it is one of the birthstones for the months of March, April, and November. It is given as a gift for the 3rd and 15th wedding anniversaries. Quartz is the official state mineral for Arkansas, and the official state gem for Georgia.
The following two articles about quartz were written by Stephanie Pflumm.
It does not matter where you live, you should not have to dig around in your back yard for very long to find some kind of silicon dioxide specimen. A Quartz Crystal. This is not surprising considering this energetic mineral is made up of the two most plentiful substances on the planet - silicon & oxygen.
Quartz is found in almost every geological environment; pegmatite, metamorphic & igneous formations. It is a component of virtually every rock type. Two of the gemstones already reviewed in O.R.E. FEATURES are quartz stones, Rose Quartz & Amethyst. Citrine, Milky Quartz & Smoky Quartz are other popular Quartz Crystals.
For this feature, we’ll be examining clear, smoky & milky Quartz.
Quartz Crystals have been used in jewelry for over 4,000 years; before that it was being utilized for tools & weapons. Today we use Quartz for radio transmissions, watch movements, jewelry, metaphysical tools & more.
In the United States, this plentiful stone is found coast to coast. In Calveras County, California, cobbles & round crystals have been found in ancient stream channels around the Mokelumne Hill area of that county. In San Diego County, Hiriart Hill is full of pegmatites that have produced Quartz Crystals large enought to cut into spheres 90 to 150 millimeters in diameter.
Herkimer County New York is famous for “Herkimer Diamonds”. Quart Crystals, often forming double terminated points are found among rock outcrops & associated soils along a several mile belt between Middleville & Herkimer New York.
Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Georgia, Montana, Nevada, North & South Carolina & Washington are among some of the other areas just in the US where Quartz Crystal specimens are found.
The Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas is where the Quartz Crystal points available at Ozark Rock Exchange come from. It was an extremely long geological process that created these gemstones.
It begins hundreds of millions of years ago under a shallow sea basin that collected quartz & silica sediment particles over millions of years. First the North American Continental Plate rotated into it’s present position, then collided with the European Continental Plate to create the Appalachian Mountains. Meanwhile the Ouachita Basin is still collecting quartz & silica sediment.
Finally, just a mere 280 million years ago, the Llanorian land mass collided with the under plate of North America. The tremendous forces from this collision began the chain of events that would create the Ouachita Mountains. As the mountains rose, tremendous pressures produced extremely hot water trying to find it’s way out. Water temperatures reached up to 500 degree F. This primal mixture of water & pressurized quartz & silica sediment went looking for the path of least resistance filling holes & gaps as it tried to find it’s way out of the earth.
It is in these pockets that the silica reacted with the quartz & crystals began to grow.
Quartz Crystal is found just as abundantly throughout the world, as it is on the North American Continent.
These Quartz formations can be anywhere from spring water clear, to a milky white to a smoky topaz in color.The milky appearance in white Quartz Crystals comes from fluid inclusions. Often a clear quartz will form over a milky to create phantoms or inclusions within the stone. These give the Quartz more depth. Milky Quartz is associated with hydrothermal veins of gold as well. If you have found Milky Quartz, you may be close to gold!
Geologists are not sure where the topaz coloring comes from in a Smoky Quartz. Most conclude that it is the result of the stone being exposed to radiation. Jewelers & rock dealers have sometimes stooped to irradiating Quartz Crystals to create “Smoky Quartz”.
Quartz Crystal has an ancient history as a stone of Power. It builds the connection between the physical & mental dimensions helping to bring a clarity of thought & intention. It will work as a communication tool between you & your Spirit Guides, Teachers or Healing Aids, & allow you be more open to psychic impressions. Use a Quartz Crystal to access the records of your past lives.
When working with your chakras, Quartz will attune very well to the heart chakra & can be used to activate the “third eye” or brow chakra. Placing a crystal on your third eye during meditation allows you to focus more clearly & will magnify images & thoughts for easier evaluation. Additionally, the crown chakra may also be opened using a Quartz Crystal.
The spiraling nature of the Quartz Crystal structure (Amethyst Vol 1 Issue 3), also makes it useful for clearing a pathway for the movement of the Kundalini.
You may use Quartz Crystal in protective magic or in purification rituals. In fact this powerful stone will easily attune to & enhance any energy you are working to create.
This versatile crystal is a must in any healing collection. It will aid in boosting the immune system, can increase vitality & is beneficial in relieving pain. In Mideaval times Quartz was used to relieve fevers by placing a Crystal on the tongue.
It will aid in circulation, assist in eliminating toxins & help with digestive disorders. Quartz will also work to unblock energy centers allowing the body to heal itself.
Crystal clusters can be utilized as energy “generators”. Activating & enhancing the powers & energies of other gemstones. They can also be effective in bringing harmony & peace to group energies.
Milky Quartz is associated with the “star people” & provides for communication among the galaxies. It also is a good stone for children & novices just beginning to practice as its energies are calmer. This Quartz emanates the energy needed to renew the spiritual health of our Mother Earth.
Smoky Quartz takes you back to ground zero in past life regression, allowing this information to come through in a stable atmosphere. Giving you the ability to assess & use information culled from those past experiences.
Quartz Crystals grow in a variety of ways; with additional points growing away from each other, with multiple points grown together, double terminated tips & more. In the January issue of O.R.E. FEATURES, we’ll explore what energies & properties these different shapes bring to the Crystal.
This information was taken from ORE Features, a publication written by Stephanie Pflumm, reprinted with permission.
ORE'S FEATURED GEMSTONE: Quartz
Early scholars theorized that Quartz formed from ice that had frozen so hard, for so long that it would never melt. Fossilized ice. Both the Greeks and Japanese came to this conclusion because so much of the material these two cultures used came from deep caverns and tall mountains where temperatures rarely warmed up.
Eventually geological science would show that Quartz formed under much warmer conditions, but our fascination with this clear crystal has yet to cool down.
The term Quartz actually refers to a large galaxy of silicate minerals and gemstones that include Amethyst, Citrine, Rose Quartz, Jaspers, Agates and other Chalcedonies (like Carnelian). For this article, we will be discussing clear and milky Quartz, sometimes referred to as Rock Crystal. We'll examine the Smokey Quartz more closely in a future article next month.Quartz is one of the most prevalent minerals on our planet, making up 12% of the Earth's crust. Nearly every gemstone (with the exception of the Diamond) has at least some traces of Silica (Quartz) in its chemical make-up. Pure Quartz (aka Rock Crystal) has a very simple chemical formula, Silicon and Oxygen (Si02).
There are three basic processes under which gemstones and crystals will form; from the magma dispersed during a volcanic eruption; through the escape of extremely hot water and pressures referred to as hydrothermal activity and during metamorphic processes such as erosion and the accumulation of sediment. Quartz will form as a result of any of these events, which may account for its ubiquitous presence on our planet.
While this crystal is available in abundance, some locations yield specimens with unique traits. Arkansas Quartz is some of the purest and clearest in the world. Before area mines began commercial production, farmers would carry wagon loads of clusters and points to sell in Hot Springs and Little Rock. Today the Coleman mines in Jessieville Arkansas are the largest Quartz producing mines in the world.
Brazil has gained a reputation for producing some of the biggest Quartz specimens. The largest single crystal found in Brazil weighed 90,000 pounds. Near the mines in Mina Gerais points up to 60 pounds can be found laying about on the ground. California's Sutters Mill, the site of the mid 1800's Gold rush is famous for sizable deposits of Quartz containing Gold veins. Herkimer county in New York is known for its unique double terminated crystals called Herkimer Diamonds. The diamond reference comes from the tendency of these crystals to be short and stocky, giving them an appearance similar to raw Diamonds.
Some Tibetan crystals have the unique ability to "sing" when struck with other crystals. Water clear double terminated points are found "floating" (having no attachment point) in the rich Carpathian sandstone of Northeast Hungary. Sometimes called Marmorosch diamonds in reference to the Marmoros Comitat region of Hungary where they occur. Cornish diamonds are Quartz crystals found in Cornwall England. Along the slopes of the Befoure mountains in Madagascar, huge blocks of clear Quartz, some weighing up to 100 pounds, are collected and brought to markets. Quartz comes from the old word (either German or Saxon) quarz, which means cross vein ore. The Greeks called Quartz, Krystallos, their word for ice.
Humans have welcomed this clear crystal friend into their lives from their earliest beginnings. Quartz jewelry has been excavated from grave sites in Mexico and Central America that pre-date Columbus' visit. Nero reputedly kept a huge collection of wine jugs, vases, drinking cups and goblets, all fashioned from pure, clear Krystallos. Early lenses fashioned from this crystalline gemstone helped people to light fires. Similar lenses were also used in the battlefield to cartherize wounds. Artisans in Egypt created a technique for glazing Quartz and substituting it for Turquoise.
Numerous spiritual traditions grew around the use Quartz crystals. Various Native American tribes and the Aborigines utilized the crystals in ceremonies to call the Rain and healing rites. Japanese legends claimed that Quartz was created from the breath of a Great White Dragon. The crystal represented absolute perfection and embodied the life long pursuit of achieving it.
Chinese Emperor Wu ordered the building of many shrines dedicated to various gods and spirits. He had the doors of these sacred places made from large pieces of Rock Crystal, to allow the space to be flooded in light.
Perhaps the most popular and perpetual use for Quartz has been the crystal ball. Long favored as a tool for divination, these spheres also served a practical purpose. Hindu, Roman and Greek societies used small Quartz spheres as reading balls. They would roll the spheres over the text, magnifying it, and making it easier for older scholars to read.
When and how humans first began fashioning clear Quartz into rounded balls has slipped away with the memories of unwritten history. Though a highly tedious method developed by the Japanese has been handed down to us in minute detail. A specimen is first chiseled into a rough round shape. Then, slowly and precisely the sphere is rolled in an iron trough. The trough is filled with water and sand, which gently smoothes the rough shape and in a few years you have a perfectly round Quartz sphere. Then the final step, hand polish the sphere with a rouge to even out an remaining rough spots.
Flawless spheres of clear Quartz are rarely over 5 inches and their cost can be outrageous. A seven inch sphere from Japan was sent for display to the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, 1876. At that time a four in sphere was valued at $2,500. At Chicago's Colombian Exposition in 1893 a 6.5 inch flawless sphere from American Quartz was appraised at $10,000. The Smithsonian's Museum of Science and History has the largest perfect crystal sphere in American. This 107 pound sphere (almost 13 inches in diameter) was given a value of $250,000 in 1938.
Always a very popular magical tool, Quartz also offers a wide range of practical applications for humans. One of the few crystals that exhibits piezoelectric properties (will generate voltage in response to mechanical stress), Quartz plays an active role in electronics, computers, watches, and wide range of personal data devices. Quartz crystals are what powered our earliest radios and continue to power our most sophisticated digital tools.
Prior to mastering the manufacturing glass, the rich often adorned their tables with decorative Quartz crystal goblets and serving dishes featuring elaborate carvings. Today the crystal serves us in much more mundane applications such as abrasives like sandpaper, for strengthening cement and concrete, enhancing porcelain glazes and adding luster to paints.
The purity of Quartz's make-up and its energetic electric properties make this gemstone the most versatile and powerful of the crystal tools. You'll find this Mother Stone very responsive to your wishes, especially if you take the time to honor and understand each crystals' unique Spirit.
It is never wise to ask too many things of one individual crystal, but it is possible to meet many different Quartz spirits to assist with a wide variety of tasks. Quartz gems come in a wide array of shapes and with many different potential powers. Learn to trust your instincts, choose pieces you are drawn to, then take the time to get to know your new crystal companion.
Many individuals associate double terminated crystal with protective powers, but your personal meditations may show that your double point is a guide to assist you in choosing directions that are appropriate for your path. Do not worry about what others have written before you, listen to what your own heart hears now, with your crystal in hand.
Placing a Quartz point on your Third Eye during meditation will help clarify messages or lessons sent to you during this time. It will also assist you in recalling the information later helping you to incorporate your new teachings in your daily life. Its reputation as a superior tool for divination and seeing past the veil is ancient and well earned. But be careful not to spend too much time peeking ahead of time.
The future is a fluid motion that is constantly influenced by our choices. Choosing between a right turn or a left turn can have a profound impact on what happens next. Choice, not prophecy is the true key to the future.
Use your Quartz as a wishing stone. Find the right one to whisper your dreams to. Keep it under your pillow every night from the New Moon until the Full Moon. Beneath the light of the Full Moon, whisper your wish one last time to your crystal than bury it back in Mother Earth visualizing it as a seed from which your dream will grow and become real.
Quartz crystals make excellent companion stones. It can help keep your instincts sharp, provide protective energies and even give you an added physical boost if you're tired or feeling sad. These gems are also delightful story tellers if you have the patience to listen. It is said that a Quartz point is a recorder and remembers all that it has come in contact with. These crystals were a part of Mother's birthing process, it's a powerful story of chaos and creation if you have a moment to get quiet and hear.
The atomic molecules that make up a Quartz crystal focus their energy (and the growth of the crystal) in a spiraling fashion towards the terminating point. This concentrated focus of atomic energy make crystal points the perfect tip for a wand. It allows your intention to be focused and projected with a more perfect will.
You can use a Quartz to charge or cleanse other gemstones and crystals. Natural clusters are especially effective for this purpose, though an individual stone can be just as effective when it has been dedicated for that job.
Healers will enjoy the diversity that Quartz tools can offer. A very powerful Chakra tool, the right crystal point can clear and open all of the key Chakra points. Allowing for a clear pathway for the Kundulini, when it is ready to be awakened. A crystal may also be tuned to cleanse the Aura and help boost the body's natural immune system.
Keep a cluster of Quartz points in your healing space. Use it for shielding out harmful energies, or for absorbing energies released during your healing sessions. Be sure to cleanse any crystal or gemstone used for this purpose on a regular basis.
Physicians from the early middle ages utilized Quartz to relieve fevers by placing the crystal under the tongue. This gemstone is also beneficial in teaching the body to heal itself. It may also aid with removing toxins from the body, improving circulation and easing digestive problems.
This information was taken from ORE Features, a publication written by Stephanie Pflumm, reprinted with permission.
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