Clear Quartz Crystals

by Curtis Lang		print version
		print version (graphics)

The word crystal comes from the Greek word "krystallos", meaning ice. The Greeks found quartz crystals high in the frigid Alpine mountains, and Pliny (c. 62-113 A.D.), the foremost historian and mineralogist of his time, believed quartz crystal was ice that had frozen so hard it  would never thaw.

One common legend is that crystals were originally heaven’s holy water, poured out by God into the aethers. As the holy quintessence descended toward the Earth, it froze into ice in outer space, where it was petrified into permanent solidity by angels so that when it fell to Earth it would be available permanently for the protection and blessing of mankind. [See “Rock Crystal: Nature’s Holy Stone”, by Frank Dorland]

Quartz is the low-temperature stable form of silicon dioxide or silica.Silicon and oxygen are the two most common elements in the Earth's crust.Quartz crystal is perhaps the most common mineral found on the face of the Earth. Sand and sandstone are considered “clastic” forms of quartz by mineralogists, meaning that they are formed of fragments of pre-existing rocks.

Although quartz makes up a large portion of the Earth's surface, there are only three places in the world that have enough high quality quartz crystal to warrant mining. These are Brazil, Madagascar, a small island off the coast of Africa, and Mt. Ida in the Ouachita Mountain range of Arkansas.

The remarkable geometric patterns quartz crystals form in nature have been the subject of scientific inquiry for centuries. In 1660, Renaissance Saint and scientist Nicolaus Steno conducted precise measurements of quartz crystal structures and found that regardless of their source, the angles between corresponding quartz crystal faces are constant. This became known as Steno’s Law of crystallography.

In the next century, the Abbé Haüy formulated the geometric law of crystallization. His work led to the modern definition of a crystal: any substance in which the molecules or atoms are arranged in a regular, ordered way in three dimensions.Crystals formed of the same mineral occur naturally in many different shapes, but all share specific internal structural characteristics.

There are believed to be seven shapes, or "systems" into which crystals can form. They include cubic, hexagonal, tetragonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, and triclinic. Quartz manifests in hexagonal crystalline systems, commonly having the form of a six-sided prism terminating in a six-sided pyramid.

Modern science has discovered that quartz crystal, silicon dioxide (SiO₂), contains 46% silicon and 53% oxygen. Each tetrahedral quartz molecule is composed of four atoms of oxygen and one of silicon. Chains of tetrahedral quartz crystals bond in spirals which in turn link to form a precise, repeating latticework of molecules. This latticework creates the macroscopic geometric quartz crystal structure.

Because of the variability of their molecular geometry, which depends upon the angle of the bridge bonds between oxygen and silicon, each quartz crystal is unique, and quartz crystals often fail to conform to the ideal geometric structure.

Twins are common, and considered by spiritually minded crystallographers to have unique metaphysical qualities. Both single and double terminated crystals abound.

Quartz may be transparent, translucent, or opaque; it may be colorless or colored. Many varieties of quartz occur around the world because quartz forms in so many different geographical climates and rock formations. Varieties include: ordinary colorless crystallized quartz, or rock crystal, rutillated quartz, rose quartz, smoky quartz, milky quartz, and amethyst.

They may contain streaks, lines, rainbows, metallic flakes, clouds, water bubbles or other inclusions. The inclusions are of two primary kinds -- metallic flakes and clouds. Clouds are created by tiny bubbles or flows of fluid entering the crystal during the period of its formation.

The beauty of the inclusions can add to the value of the quartz crystal, depending upon the nature of the inclusion, its visibility, and overall appearance of the crystal.

Inclusions do not diminish the utility of the crystal for spiritual or energy work, and often inclusions will enhance the efficacy of the crystal, imparting specific metaphysical properties that are prized by healers and energy workers.

Quartz crystals have a unique ability to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy and vice versa. This is called the piezoelectric effect.

Read the full story in the article "Using Quartz Crystals in Digital Technology, Healing and Meditation".

Look at our beautiful clear quartz crystals for sale in our Crystal Gallery in the Satya Center Store.