Essay - Crystal Magic

What do diamonds, snowflakes, salt, and sand have in common?  They are all crystals created by nature herself.  

From the earliest of times, humans have been drawn to the potential spiritual and metaphysical uses of crystals.  India's Ayurvedic record, as well as traditional Chinese medicine, recorded the use of crystals for improving health around five thousand years ago.   The ancient Egyptians wore crystals for protection and health, as well as to help them in their afterlife -- rock crystals for example were found with the mummy of Tutankhamen.   The ancient Greek philosophers Aristotle, Theophrastus, Pliny the Elder, and Damigeron all completed extensive studies on the properties of crystals and other gems.   Crystal skulls have been found among Mayan ruins.  Crystals are even among the 12 precious jewels attached to the glory robes worn by the high priest of ancient Israel. 

Today, there are many exploring new ways to use crystals.  A Japanese researcher, Masaru Emoto, has photographed water crystals to show that they can be used to record human thoughts, words, ideas and music.   Farmers around the world are using quartz in a technique call biodynamic farming to improve the quality and quantity of their crops.

Materially, crystals have a varied value.   Some are rare and expensive such as diamonds.  Others like quartz, also known as silicon dioxide or silica, is the earth's most abundant mineral – you may have walked on it at the beach in the form of sand.   

What gives crystals its magical significance?

Is it their brilliance and color that crystals possess?  How often does the clear sparkle of a crystal set in a ring or as an ornament of adornment catch our eye, and almost without thinking, our gaze follows its every movement.  Sometime they seem to possess an inner light though we know this is only an optical illusion since no crystal possesses light within itself.   Crystals reflect the light in gloriously different hues, none detracting from the other, but all enhancing the beauty of the whole. Colors have long been known to affect us psychologically, how much more impact does this brilliance impact that effect?

Is it their beautiful form?  Most crystals are found in rocks that have a volcanic origin, but others have been formed when large land masses collide or when some type of solvent, such as water evaporates around the mineral.   The result is a solid form of atoms, molecules, or ions packed into an ordered and often pleasing geometric shape. Crystals can be formed in a couple of seconds or take many millions of years.  For those of us that believe that the earth herself contains magical properties, how much more impact does this pure formation of earthen matter have? 

Is it their stored energy?   A phenomenon called the 'piezoelectric effect’ has been used to provide power and make sound for many of the electronic devices we use today.  When crystals are subjected to stress, for example by having pressure or voltage applied to them, they vibrate causing them to emit electricity or sound.   Is it too much to believe that this kinetic “energy” might have metaphysical uses also?

Crystals are indeed an integral part of the earth’s core and as Aristotle, the famous Greek Philosopher pointed out, "Nature Does Nothing Useless."    We have many reasons to be thankful for what crystals do, from special drugs and structural strength to candy treats and rings that symbolize the durability and value of love.   But both mundane and magical people would agree though that crystals do not work by themselves, they need your personal energy in some form to interact with it.  If you choose to make crystals a part of your life, remember one thing – everyone has the same natural beauty as a crystal if they take time to look for it.   If crystals help us do this, then they indeed hold very powerful magic.