The Fascination Of Crystals

Crystals and Gemstones

Fascination, Decoration and Healing

When you are looking to buy a crystal, you may be looking for something attractive to wear, you may be interested in its healing properties, or you may simply be fascinated with its physical form and structure. You don’t really need to know what the properties of a particular stone are in order to buy it. Sometimes, just to be attracted to it is enough for you to feel you want to take it with you. There is undoubtedly some level at which you and it are connecting.

The use of stones and crystals goes back to the very beginnings of Man, and ivory beads have been found in Russia dating back 60,000 years, as well as amulets of Baltic amber from 30,000 years ago, and amber beads were around in Britain 10,000 years ago. We cannot be certain of the exact purpose of particular stones and crystals in ancient times, but it is almost certain they were connected with religious ritual and symbolism, with healing, and as an expression of wealth. From the crystal-containing formulae of the ancient Sumerians, the lapis lazuli, carnelian, turquoise, emerald and quartz in ancient Egyptian jewellery, as well as the sapphire in a bishop’s 12^th Century ring, we can assume that extreme importance has been attached to gemstones down the ages. Other examples include the cosmetic application of crushed malachite as eye shadow (Egypt), the use of green stones in general to symbolise the heart of the deceased (Egypt and Mexico), and the use of jade armour in burials (China).

Many well-known crystals owe their names to the language of the ancient Greeks – amethyst (a-methustos) means not drunk, and was worn to prevent drunkenness and hangovers; haematite comes from the word for blood (haema), and as an iron ore is used to aid blood-related disorders; and, believing that clear quartz was so deeply frozen that it would remain solid forever, the Greeks named crystal itself using their word for ice (krystallos).

Not only are gemstones recognised for their beauty and representation of status, but also throughout history interest in their healing properties has steadily increased, to a point where, today, they appear in all manner of holistic therapies. Crystals for healing, colour therapy, and chakra healing, for instance, all involve a passionate belief in the power within crystals. In fact, most “healers” and “readers” usually have some form of crystal presence in their therapy rooms. Psychics, Tarot Readers, Reiki Healers, etc., often give pride of place to a large piece of rose quartz, an amethyst geode or a quartz crystal cluster, each piece designed to enhance the mystical or spiritual ambience of the room.

To summarise, crystals have been around for thousands of years, being used for everything from religious rites, medicinal applications, spiritual awareness, emotional influence, and chakra balancing, as well as jewellery, painting and other artistic media, and in more modern times they have even been an essential component of watches and telecommunications. The abilities of crystals and gems to absorb and store energy is well recorded and exploited, and the vibrations and harmonics they emit undoubtedly impact on our thoughts and emotions.

On another level they are, simply, beautiful. Whatever else they have meant to us in the past, and whatever practical uses we find for them, no one can deny their aesthetic qualities, and crystals, with their properties and their meanings, are set to remain an integral part of our fascination with alternative modes of healing.

---oo0oo---