If you've found this page, please check my blog for the tag "stones" instead. There's much more information there. Thanks!
Crystals, Stones, and Minerals
Buy responsibly!
Look, we all do it.
We see something we like and we get it without really thinking of where it came from. Mining causes a lot of damage to the planet and to the people working in the mines. But we can have these cool rocks without causing as much harm if we're conscious about our shopping decisions. Buy used or fair-trade whenever possible. I'll include some links here to help you.
I'm not getting paid for these links.
I know what you're thinking.
"Great, crystals, sure. I can find this anywhere. I don't need one more person to tell me that rose quartz is for self-love."
That's fair, I understand the annoyance. It seems like the same information about the same crystals gets regurgitated everywhere you look. Or sometimes, even more annoyingly, everyone will have their own meaning for the same rock.
What makes this page different? Well, I'll be doing my best to find (and credit) historical/academic sources. A lot of people like to feel out these things for themselves, and that's fine! But I think it's nice to know where these ideas come from and what the "accurate" meanings and uses are. I'll also include metals, rocks, and all that jazz.
So, click on the names of the minerals below to learn more.
-
Iron
-
​
Amethyst
Amethyst is a type of quartz that gets its color from irradiation and impurities.
​
The ancient Greeks believed that amethyst would prevent drunkenness and made cups from it as a result.
​
According to The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, amethyst was thought to protect soldiers from harm and could "quicken the intelligence."
​
Also from the same source, a bear engraved onto an amethyst "has the virtue of putting demons to fight."
​
In Hebrew, amethyst is "achlama," which is related to the word for "dream." This stone was believed to induce dreams and visions.
​
Amethyst is the birth stone for people born in February. A short poem about this birth stone from The Curious Lore of Precious Stones:
​
"The February-born may find
Sincerity and peace of mind,
Freedom from passion and from care,
If she an amethyst will wear."
​
An amethyst in a dream represents freedom from harm.
​
This gorgeous purple mineral can be found in many places in the US, such as Colorado, Georgia, Montana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
Clear Quartz
Clear quartz is made of silicon dioxide, but medieval geologists believed that it was actually congealed water.
​
According to The Picatrix, quartz is associated with Jupiter, Venus, and the Moon.
​
Quartz is very common and can be found just about anywhere. It comes in many varieties, including amethyst, rose quartz, citrine, and smoky quartz.
Copper
Copper is a very useful metal. We use it in electricity, heating, building homes, in our currency... on and on. It's normally a sort of orange-brown color, but exposure to oxygen over time will cause a layer of green to appear. This might be why copper is associated with Venus, as the color attributed to Venus is green.
​
Copper is one of the earliest metals used by humans, with the earliest discovered copper use being from about 8700 BCE in a pendant from Iraq. Around 3000 BCE (if not earlier), copper and bronze were polished and used to make mirrors. This could be another reason copper is associated with Venus (as a goddess of love and beauty).
​
Copper bracelets are believed by many to ease arthritis pain, but there has at present been no solid evidence to suggest that this works. However, it has been shown that copper has antimicrobial properties. As a result, copper is used to prevent the spread of illness, often in the form of doorknobs, handrails, and other surfaces that are touched by many people.
​
Copper is easily found in many forms, but the one that might be easiest on your wallet is any US penny from before 1982. They were made of 95% copper and are not very difficult to find in the US at the time of this writing.
