View Full Version : Where do your stones come from?
Hi
This is something which bothers me. I used to use crystals in my magic a lot but then I started to wonder about where they actually come from. Crystals are available in loads of gift shops these days, the demand for them must be huge. My daughter wants me to buy her a tumble pollished stone every time we go to our local magic shop and I feel awful saying no but the owners of the shop don`t know whether or not their stones have been obtained in an enviromentally friendly way.
I look on the Earth as my Mother, my Goddess and as such I can`t buy into her destruction by buying crystals which have been ripped or blasted out of her.
Recently I became attuned to Reiki and discovered that my Reiki Master runs an ethical crystal business (all of the crystals which he sells have either been found or harvested without the use of explosives or invasive mining techniques) so now I can safely buy crystals knowing where they have come from. I have a wand with an amethyst tip; the amethyst was found on a beach in Cornwall.
I hate to sound as if I`m preaching and I`m sure that most of you are aware of this anyway but to those who aren`t please think or even ask your local crystal supplier where their stones come from.
Love and light
Crystalmynx xx
Lady Skye
31-12-2002, 15:27
Hello Crystalmynx,
I must say I haven't given too much thought as to where my crystals come from, however, I buy most of them from a woman at the annual Renaissance Festival each summer. She mines them herself in Arkansas, U.S.A. She is very particular and her crystals are of the finest quality. These mines are open to the public and for a fee you can go in a tap them out of the earth yourself. In order to release them from where they are growing I would imagine it would be a very delicate procedure. I plan to mine some of my own next summer and I will be treating each one I take from the earth with utmost care and sincerity. I believe their loving energy was meant for us to find....as a tool for us to use to grow and mature spiritually. It's like taking fruit from a tree...the tree bears its fruit in order that we may thrive. The one thing I do when choosing a crystal is to look for damage to it such as a chipped terminated end or other visible chips or cracks that have been caused by human handling....a damaged spot on a crystal can ruin or distort its metaphysical effects. In that case, I do not choose one that has been carelessly handled....although they, too, need to be handled with love.
IsisUnveiled
31-12-2002, 17:47
I have personally let my intuition let me know if it is a "happy" stone or not. If it is a fairly vindictive one I will sense it and let it be.
As it was mentioned earlier, the area around Hot Springs is a great place where you can dig the crystals yourself. There is no greater connection you can have, and the crystals there are really full of energy. I really recommend people go there to get crystals - it's very inexpensive.
Good luck!
i go to a 'rock shop' set up in an elderly man's garage. he travels all over and harvests them himself. his driveway is filled with stones he has tumbled than rejected. it's all i can do not to scoop them up, lol.
Minderwiz
04-05-2003, 15:22
My wife is our crystal buyer and tends to use a wide range of sources - sometimes directly from the mine (we've been down countless mines!) sometimes from gift shops/magic shops, sometimes from ebay but wherever she gets them from she goes through a cleansing ritual with each.
Whether this is a sufficient action, I'm not sure, I've not considered the issue before - its an interesting question for a collector.
However would not knowing the source of the stone prevent you from buying - assuming that you don't pick up any adverse feelings from it?
HudsonGray
04-05-2003, 15:52
I don't know. SO many stones/crystals come from South America or outside the US, and the mining practices would basically be blast & pull. If you can feel a wounded energy in a crystal, this might be the case. But if you know it's been taken by the person who's selling it to you, that would give more peace of mind.
Or finding them yourself would be best, if that's feasable.
Trust your gut instinct when you first hold the stone & abide by that. It may be the only information you can go on.
I have given this issue a lot of thought, because I find it personally distasteful to think of crystals being blasted out of the earth just so that I can feel better or use them in some way -- to me, this is a distasteful form of exploitation. However, in reality it is very difficult to know where crystals come from, and how they are obtained, unless one gathers them oneself (just as people usually don't know where their food comes from, unless they personally grow it). So the way I think of it is this: I try to buy rocks and crystals from environmentally sensitive sellers, but if I don't know where the crystals come from or how they were obtained, I view their purchase as rescue work -- I know they will have a good home with me, just as an animal from a shelter would. Even if the crystals have been shocked or harmed in some way, they can still recuperate in a positive environment, and we will have much to offer each other.
Minderwiz
04-05-2003, 16:40
What a great way to look at the situation!
An interesting essay:
HERE (www.whitedragon.org.uk/articles/crystals.htm)
Love and light
Crystalmynx xx
Astraea...so beautifully said and soul/heartfelt...
I echo your words and feelings...exactly...this practice...doing...loving...trusting...sharing...this is so
rewarding...for each in the sharing/teaching and being that always occurs...we are each so damaged no matter where we come from...are now... or are going...and sharing the healing...the journey...the merging that is communing...this has been...is...and will be...in my experience...only BLESSINGS...
This applies in my life in everyway too...as much as I am able...I am a rescuer...of earthworms after the rains have washed them from their beds...of spiders and all insects in my home...outdoors...animals in distress...wounded birds...so many animals...and Greyhound Rescue...4 of my darling dogs now are true companions and have given back more to me than I could have ever imagined...they know they are rescued...grateful...loving and so giving...always...
bonded closer than any other animals...who have not had this need...we fostered 17 other Greyhounds from our home while active members and still teach and spread the word...still finding homes...and $ donated to so many causes we cannot contribute to actively...
I always do my best to help our Earth...the living/loving being Gaia...and all plantforms too...I always hear them/feel them...they cry out to me...just as does all life and what some might consider lifeless...all exists...has need...for me...all has/is life and valued...this deep love and respect for Earth and all her children keeps me humble...and ever grateful...I hope...as I acknowledge my own need to be rescued...open to and allowing the help and love and sharing ever present from others...we pass it on...we are not alone...no never...and there is such comfort here...and BLESSINGS...everywhere and everywhen...always...
Ravenal, you describe so beautifully the sacredness of all life, and the importance of caring for this wounded planet and all of her creatures.
michelley
11-05-2003, 23:46
Hello all,
I purchase my stones through a married couple who travel the world and visit the Earths rich deposits of minerals and stones. Sometimes they are carved into beautiful shapes.
They have a beautiful showcase and once I visited without my daughter and spied a particular rose quartz set of bookends and thought how my daughter may like them. After a couple of months we both went back and she made her happy face when I told her she could pick out something. She went straight to the bookends I spied previous. Now they hold her Drews, Eagers, Estes, Blumes, L'Engles & Suesses.
I also like to visit a place named Laurel Caverns close to where I live here in Pennsylvania, there is a natural deposit there and for a fee you can go and mine youself. I have found some beautiful stones there.
When I was a kid, we drove to Colorada and every stop I would collect some rocks and stones, this was during the 70's... after being a science project many times over that original collection is still with me.
Besides that, I live on Quarry Street for the past two years and sure enough the is a spot where an old quarry used to be, my mom took her metal detector there one day, found nothing but coins.
As far as how they come from the Earth, I think they are really tough and at the same time precious. This is precisely how they aid us. They give us added strength through gentle vibes.
- michelley
Crystals I've bought at local shops & rock 'n gem shows have been harvested by the shop owner - I do ask for the history. & I agree with the comments about helping birth-trauma mined stones to heal by bringing them into a positive environment & putting them to good use. One of my best crystals for healing is one which has suffered in its travels. It's a double terminated quartz about 3" long that shows wear 'n tear. It soothes because it too has suffered, & though it's not pretty, it's the one I seek out when I'm hurt.
RedEarth
24-06-2003, 16:39
I bought a piece of rose quartz that looked 'in pain'..it was as if the bigger block of it had been lined up and just heartlessly sliced into smaller pieces. It seems like it is irrepairably damaged :(
I hesitated before buying it, thinking as it looked so hurt and robbed, but then I thought if it wasn't me it might be someone else..anyway, I have never used it, as it seems so damaged, but i do feel sorry for it, and after reading all your threads, I might pay it some special attention.
RedEarth