ACCESSING YOUR INTUITION The Magic of Crystals
BY NICHOLAS PEARSON Rocks and minerals have fascinated hominids since before Homo sapiens ZDONHGWKHHDUWK+XPDQVKDYHIRXQGQHDULQ¿QLWHXVHVIRU geological treasures, mundane and mystical alike. Stones are an inte- JUDOSDUWRIWKHIDEULFRIOLIHIURPVWRQHWRROV¿VKLQJZHLJKWVVSLQGOH whorls, and building materials to jewelry, gemstones, pigments, and ULWXDO REMHFWV 2I DOO PLQHUDO UHVRXUFHV SUL]HG E\ KXPDQNLQG FU\V - tals and gemstones are the pinnacle of magical treasures found in the earth. There is compelling evidence that crystals have been imbued with symbolic meaning for hundreds of thousands of years. Homo erectus LVNQRZQWRKDYHFROOHFWHGTXDUW]FU\VWDOVDWOHDVW\HDUVDJR 0RUHWKDQWZHQW\UKRPERKHGUDOFDOFLWHFU\VWDOVZHUHSODFHGLQDFDYH LQWKH.DODKDULGHVHUWRYHU\HDUVDJR WKHVLWHKDVORQJEHHQ associated with ritual use, which suggests the crystals were objects as- FULEHGVRPHNLQGRIVDFUHGSRZHU2WKHUVDFUHGVWRQHV²OLNHÀLQWDQG amber and various fossils — were collected, traded, and buried with the dead since at least the Stone Age. The notion that crystals, gems, and other stones carry some kind of SRZHULVIRXQGLQYLUWXDOO\HYHU\FXOWXUHDURXQGWKHZRUOG0HGLHYDO texts on the curative and spiritual powers of stones use this power to separate the precious from the nonprecious. The magical or spiritual qualities, known as virtutes (“virtues” in Latin), imbued stones with agency and power, which made them precious and desirable no matter what they might have looked like. This indwelling power could be har- QHVVHGWRLQÀXHQFHWKHZRUOGDURXQGWKHLUEHDUHUVSDUNLQJDOOPDQ - ner of ways that crystals, gemstones, fossils, and even common stones
might be used in magic. The magic of crystals is not merely a cultural designation. Their makeup is extraordinarily neat and orderly. In fact, a crystal is de- ¿QHG DV KDYLQJ D UHJXODU FRPSRVLWLRQ DQG D UHSHDWLQJ V\PPHWULFDO structure. This means that crystals are composed of the same ingredi- ents throughout and that those components are arranged in a perfect- ly ordered fashion. This internal structure is called a crystal lattice . 7KRXJKWLQ\GHYLDWLRQVDOZD\VH[LVWFU\VWDOVDUHGH¿QHGE\WKHLUFR - herent structures, and these coherent structures are responsible for coherent energies. In modern crystal healing, the energy of crystals is RIWHQGHVFULEHGDVKDUPRQL]LQJRUHQWUDLQLQJWKHKXPDQHQHUJ\¿HOG WRLQGXFHDEHQH¿FLDORXWFRPH6DLGDQRWKHUZD\FU\VWDOVDFWDVWXQ - ing forks that our energy and consciousness can use to become more aligned, balanced, and harmonious. Healing Catalyst: A Crystal Contemplation Crystals are catalysts for healing, which kickstart our own evolution inside and out. From wearing gemstone jewelry to crafting crystal grids, the methods for tapping into the potential of crystals is virtually OLPLWOHVV %HDULQJ WKLV LQ PLQG OHW¶V VWDUW ZLWK RQH VLPSOH SUDFWLFH a crystal contemplation. Select a crystal or stone you’d like to explore energetically. Find a place with good lighting, free of distractions. Turn the stone every which way you can, exploring every surface, every angle and face. If it is transparent, look into or through the stone; hold it up to the light to observe what happens when illuminated from behind. Close your H\HVDQGJHQWO\IHHOHYHU\ELWRILWVH[WHULRUZLWK\RXU¿QJHUWLSVDVLI
56—PATHWAYS—Winter 25-26
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