My "Leanings" on Crystals

[PAGANFILES]

I guess it's because of my penchant toward sympathetic Magick that I find the most personal satisfaction in working with organic and ephemral crystals. If I wear adornment it is usually amber, though I have worn a diamond on occasion (though that is another tale.) When hiking in the mountains, I've worked with both snow and Ice. Years ago I would carve soft coal for use in my grandmother's kitchen stove. Salt, I have already mentioned in another post. Sugar crystalized on carved wood can make a beautiful addition to a child's ceremonies--and they can lick it off and keep the carving as remembrance. <SS>=small smile of remembrance.

The emphasis seems to have shifted to what I would call the hard stones in the last 40 years.

Terry

[Rockprincess]

That's interesting, Terry.

I'm not sure that the emphasis has shifted, really. People who use folk-knowledge certainly still use the types of crystals you're talking about, in the ways you mentioned. The uses for the "hard crystals" are quite different, and the kinds of workings are completely different.

I think it is because the soft crystals do their work by leaving the crystal form (except for salt, in some cases) - dissolving into ionic form, combining with other elements to become something else, etc, while the hard crystals are used specifically for the properties of their matrix.

I could be wrong, but that is what makes sense to me. :wave:

Edited to add: Amber is not crystalline, but rather amorphous. :spinner:

[PAGANFILES]

That's interesting, Terry.

I'm not sure that the emphasis has shifted, really. People who use folk-knowledge certainly still use the types of crystals you're talking about, in the ways you mentioned. The uses for the "hard crystals" are quite different, and the kinds of workings are completely different.

I think it is because the soft crystals do their work by leaving the crystal form (except for salt, in some cases) - dissolving into ionic form, combining with other elements to become something else, etc, while the hard crystals are used specifically for the properties of their matrix.

I could be wrong, but that is what makes sense to me. :wave:

Edited to add: Amber is not crystalline, but rather amorphous. :spinner:


Having access, I immediately picked up my "Dictionary of Geological Terms" prepared by the American Geological Institute. You are absolutely right about Amber. I guess I've stuck with what I was taught 60 years ago and I should get up to date.

Another thread we might have is the evolution of carbon based organics. Their transformation by heat and pressure and their uses as they change. (example) The use of coal or charcoal dust mixed with blood as used in some ritual work.

Another might be the use of ancient forms in crystalline states--as in fossils.

I think a geologist and an old man who reads a lot could make this quite an interesting forum.

Terry

[Rockprincess]

I think a geologist and an old man who reads a lot could make this quite an interesting forum.

Terry
:lol: Right on, Terry. I'm always thrilled to have new people in here.

:fpipesmok