History-Crystals through Time

If you are new to the world of crystals and gems, then you might not know that they are considered among the healing wonders of the world. And in fact, knowledge of the healing powers of crystals is far from new. Crystals have been used for their mystical, beneficial properties since the ancient world. And we don't have to look far to find evidence for that. Crystals are mentioned in the Bible over ten times. And it's clear that the ancient people of Biblical times were aware of the power of crystals and stones.

Just take, for example, how the book of Revelation describes the properties of New Jerusalem, God's heavenly city. New Jerusalem, the Bible says, "shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst."

Clearly, the power of these stones and crystals is held very close to God. Indeed, the book of Exodus described a breastplate worn by a Levitical high priest as containing twelve stones, each engraved with one of the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. "The first row was carnelian, chrysolite and beryl," it said. "The second row was turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; the third row was jacinth, agate and amethyst; the fourth row was topaz, onyx and jasper."

Crystals or gemstones have been used throughout history not just by common people, but by kings and queens. Egyptian queens such as Hatshepsut and Cleopatra were historically known to add them to their attire and makeup. In their society, crystals were used by ancient astrologers, diviners and priests, and were revered for their power and beauty. Stones were used in ancient Egypt at least as early as 3000 B.C.E. Amulets and talismans were cut from agate, lapis lazuli, carnelian and turquoise. It has been speculated that the pyramids were capped with crystals to channel cosmic forces into the center of the geometric structures.

The Egyptians pulverized gems and mixed them with liquid to drink as a healing elixir. These remedies were prescribed by matching colors to maladies that ancient patients might suffer. For instance, a jaundiced Egyptian might drink yellow beryl. Bloodstones helped those who were bleeding, and lapis those with blue joints from poor circulation.

But the ancient Egyptian sages also used crystals in ways more familiar to us. A papyrus from 1600 B.C.E. shows how to use beads of lapis lazuli, malachite, and red jasper for healing. Worn as a necklace, they caused diseases to vanish when they passed through the stones.

But the wisdom of the ancients was not restricted only to Egypt -- and neither was the restorative power of crystal healing. Almost everyone has heard of crystal skulls, but many people think of them as a purely fictional invention, perhaps created for Indiana Jones movies. What you might not realize is that crystal skulls are real artifacts, and that many incredible and even miraculous powers have been attributed to them. Crystal skulls are often beautiful and immaculately-carved objects that many claim originated with the ancient Aztec or Maya civilizations. Some have speculated that the skulls may even have been created with the help of ancient extraterrestrial visitors. If that is true, could it mean that aliens thousands of years ago wanted to gift us with the power of crystal healing? There is certainly something otherworldly about the feeling of well-being that can come from their use.

Whether extraterrestrials deserve the credit or not, it's certainly true that the use of crystals and gemstones for their healing and magical powers spread far and wide across the ancient world.

I want to share with you an excerpt from an article I found about the history of lapidary (the shaping of crystals and gemstones) written by Gerald Wykoff, CSM GG for the International Gem Society:

Gem cutting, or lapidary, most certainly got its start as an offshoot of mundane everyday activities. A stone may have fallen into a fire where the heat caused it to break or flake. Perhaps a sharp edge resulted. Certainly, flint and other hard stones possess sharp edges, but a blade-like cutting edge on a newly flaked piece of rock suggested some very interesting possibilities.

In prehistoric times, man hammered tools from stone, presumably smacking one stone against another. He scratched and chiseled out symbols and primitive writings on hard rock and cave walls – and gradually learned the great secret: some stones are harder than others and therefore they are more capable of inflicting scratches on other less hard stones.

From this very basic understanding, drilling and bruting became possible.

Drilling, one of the first of the lapidary arts, traces its roots back almost 1,000,000 years ago. Primitive peoples learned that rocks could be broken or fractured. The breakage provided random fragments, but ultimately experimentation demonstrated that breakage could also be achieved with some semblance of control.

This same knowledge of relative hardness led to bruting, the shaping of a gem specimen by rubbing one mineral against another harder mineral. The slow and tedious practice of bruting was used for centuries until more refined techniques were introduced.

Given the early date, historians are reluctant to attribute anything quite so intellectual as an understanding of cleavages. It was satisfactory that the breaking, chipping, or flaking of a stone could be disciplined ... made to occur in desired directions and depth.

Later perhaps, someone viewed these same stone fragments from a more abstract perspective. They viewed the unusual configuration, texture, or coloring of a piece of stone or mineral crystal, and began to contemplate the possible alterations of a stone for artistic or adornment purposes.

The existence of these ancient artifacts proves how old the art of lapidary is. The artifacts demonstrate that lapidaries had conquered the challenges of sawing, chipping, drilling, polishing and faceting before the time of Christ. The work was rudimentary by today's standards but the principles upon which this work was performed are still with us.

Given this history, it's impossible not to see that crystals have been an integral part of the human experience since the beginning of our history as a species. And crystals and gems could not have lasted so long if they had not been of great benefit to human health and wellness.

In a world that is ever changing, crystals are still a way to heal the energy of billions of people worldwide. If placed in a bra, a purse, a pocket, a car, or a room, crystals can create new energy that heals and is here to...