Cass Jackson - Crystals. Plain & Simple

Copyright 2006, 2016

by Cass and Janie Jackson

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Hampton Roads Publishing, Inc. Reviewers may quote brief passages. Previously published in 2009 as Simply Crystals by Zambezi Publishing Limited, Devon, UK.

Cover design by Jim Warner

Interior design by Kathryn Sky-Peck

Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc.

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The healing crystals discussed in this book are not recommended as an alternative to professional medical attention. It is important that if you feel unwell, you should consult a qualified physician. The crystals we list may aid the healing process and/or alleviate symptoms, but must on no account be used until accurate medical diagnoses and appropriate treatment have been given.

Crystals and precious gems come from around the world. Find a reputable dealer when making your purchases, and always check to make sure your crystals and gems are conflict-free.

ISBN: 978-1-57174-757-0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request

Printed in Canada

MAR

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T hroughout history, crystals have had a multitude of uses. The earliest use may well have been as decorationthey are, of course, beautiful to behold. But was that all?

Imagine the scene. A stone-age man stoops to pick up from the ground something that glitters and catches his eye. What is it? He carries it home to show his mate. Perhaps they are downcast because he has been unable to find food. However, their sadness is forgotten as they peer at this beautiful crystal. This may have been the beginning of crystal healing. The crystal has, for the moment, healed their worries.

Each time the woman looks at the crystal it lifts her spirits. It was a gift from her partner and she values it, maybe clutching it tightly when he leaves her to go hunting. Perhaps, she thinks, it will ensure that he comes back safely. Later, when he returns, she believes it is because of the crystal. If his hunting has been successful, she will be even more convinced. Was this how crystals first came to be regarded as good luck charms? However these beliefs began, they have increased over the centuries and today are more popular than ever.

Legend has it that crystals were used extensively in Atlantis, where their true value was understood. It is said that the Atlanteans knew how to store information inside a crystalthey were the famous record keepers mentioned elsewhere in this book. Yet it is only comparatively recently that we have started to use quartz crystals in modern electronic engineering, and this has enabled us to produce computers on which we now store our records. The Mayans, Hebrews, and Ancient Egyptians employed crystals in their rituals and sacred ceremonies. Today the Australian aborigines still use precious stones and crystals to commune with the spirits.

Over the centuries, through trial and error, certain crystals have been found to produce healing effects of different kinds in varying situations. Only now are we recognizing their vast potential for dealing with physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual problems. Skeptics assert that there is no sound medical evidence for such claims. Even so, thousands of people throughout the world vouch for the extraordinary results they have obtained. It must also be an encouraging thought that eminent scientists and physicians are currently engaged in research on the subject.

Investigation into the use of crystals for divination and for enhancing psychic powers is also ongoing. Obviously such uses cannot yet be claimed as an exact science but crystals have long been utilized as a means of foretelling the futureand who is to say what marvels are yet to be discovered?

In fact, there seem to be as many ways of using these stones as there are types of crystal. This book, admittedly, merely skims the surface of a complex subject but we hope that it will encourage our readers to experiment and investigate further the magic and mystery of crystals.

C rystals, in the sense that we use the word here, includes gems, rocks, precious stones, semi-precious stones, or even simply stones. Most crystals are of mineral originthough modern usage of the term crystal includes amber, pearl, coral, and a few items that are not mineral in origin. Some colored stones, such as malachite and rose quartz, are unformed and rough when taken from the ground and are usually described as semi-precious. Others, such as the diamond, are equally rough when mined, but are exquisitely cut and polished. Still others, like the amethyst, come out of the ground naturally faceted and already perfect in every way.

Whatever their original forms, crystals have always fascinated mankind because of their beautiful colors or the way they sparkle. Primitive man, recognizing that these stones were different from the soil and rock amongst which they were found, instinctively collected them as something special.

It was then an easy step to endow these beautiful objects with special attributes and magical properties. The Ancient Egyptians believed that crystals could ensure good health, worldly fortune, and protection from evil spirits in this world and the next.

It was the ancient Greeks who gave us the word crystal, derived from krystallos, the Greek word that meant both ice and quartz. The ancient Greeks believed that clear quartz was simply ice that had been transmuted into a more permanent state.

The less common a crystal is, the more precious it becomes; thus the diamond is more valuable than the quartz crystal. The larger these crystals are, the less common and even more precious they become. Even today, the largest and most rare stones are found only in royal regalia or in jewelry owned by the extremely wealthy.

As mentioned earlier, this book will list as crystals some materials that are not crystalline in structure. These are nevertheless considered to be gems because of their beauty and rarity. One example is the pearl, which is an organic substance formed by an oyster. Coral, too, is an organic substance, being the external skeleton of tiny marine organisms. Amber is formed by the fossilization of tree resin, and jet is a hard variety of lignitea close relation to coal.

Most crystals are hard minerals, ranging in color from completely transparent and clear as wateras with the true white diamond and the less expensive crystal Herkimer diamondthrough to completely blackas with jet and the crystal known as Apache Tears. Many crystals are homogenous, meaning the whole stone is of uniform color, such as jet. Others are striped, such as sardonyx, or mottled, such as opal. Some crystals, such as tiger's eye, sparkle as they reflect the light from within. Others, such as jasper, are opaque and have only surface color. The variety and intricacy of crystals is endless.