Admittedly, I was quite excited to watch the new Gaia-series Crystals this past summer.
I love crystals, and they are definitely a part of The Unseen Realm culture, even if they were edited in at a later date to be included in the subset of categories I laid out in the Introductory post.
I’ve worked closely with, and studied crystals for the past two, almost three, years… yet that was just when I started using them in my own practices more intentionally. I’ve been collecting crystals, gems, rocks, tektites, etc. since I was a kid.
Hell, I love incorporating crystals everywhere so much, that I designed and made The Ultimate Crystal Dashboard template for Notion users, when I was focusing on Notion template creation. I dubbed myself the Notion Witch, as most of my templates had some metaphysical/witchy vibe to them… which was refreshing to me amidst the thousands of “second brain” and productivity templates that were popping up!
I started working more closely and intentionally with crystals within the last two years, by taking on a lot of research on my own, to start. My favourite resources are Judy Hall’s The Crystal Bible and The Citrine Circle’s A Guide To Crystals iPhone app.
And then in my Crystal Reiki course, I studied the scientific structure of crystals, along with the metaphysical aspects (again), how to work with crystals effectively, crystal grids, and obviously, learned methods and manners of performing Crystal Reiki. We touched on some crystal history, but it was brief…
Well, on one of the last episodes of Gaia’s Crystal series - they explored some myth and legends of crystals, and it made me want to dive into more stories about crystals through history and/or mythology!
So this is that post: some lore, legends, and crystal mythology
Let’s start with the legend of Labradorite
Because it was first found close to home for me and is also probably my favourite story:
Although named as late as the 18th Century, this stone actually has a much longer history. Inuit tribes in Canada believed Labradorite was linked to the Aurora Borealis, or more commonly, the Northern Lights.
The legend says an Inuit warrior had discovered a cave filled with Labradorite. He thought that the light was trapped inside the stones and brought his spear down into the stone to release the Aurora Borealis as we know it now. Alas, he could not free all of the light, so we still have Labradorite to remember the myth.
There are additionally Norse stories which tell of the Bifrost Bridge (the shimmering rainbow joining the earth with Asgard, home of the gods.) They thought this bridge to be made from shimmering Labradorite. How beautiful!
Other Norse Viking beliefs also included the Northern Lights. They believed the magical Aurora Borealis were caused by the light reflecting off the shields and weapons of the Valkyries, who wore jewelry embedded with gemstones.
Perhaps you know the legend of Amethyst?
As legend goes, Bacchus fell in love with Amethyst. She was a beautiful maiden, but she declined his advances. In the face of rejection, he decided to seek revenge against Amethyst. Artemis took pity on the maiden and turned her into a crystalline quartz statue to protect her. Bacchus became enraged and saddened, pouring his chalice of wine over the statue, turning it light purple. Amethyst anciently and modernly can be used to prevent intoxication and loss of control, and it’s said this stems from the mythology of Amethyst. The word amethyst, comes from the Greek word amethustos which means ‘not drunken.’
Tourmaline isn’t just black
There are actually 3 different species of tourmaline. It’s most commonly found as black tourmaline, or the species known as schorl. But Egyptian legend says, tourmaline formed in the center of the Earth… and on its way to the sun, it passed through a rainbow. So this legend actually accounts for and reminds us of the full-spectrum of colour tourmaline can actually be found in.
I like rare Tanzanite, and I cannot lie…
One of the rarest crystals on the planet is Tanzanite. It can only be found in the sacred, Mount Kilimanjaro. The Maasai people were the first to find the tiny blue crystals scattered across their land after a massive thunderstorm. As the legend goes, sometime in the 1930s lightning struck the Merelani Hills and a massive fire ensued. The people fled; when they we returned, they found and gathered the sparkling indigo gems from the ground, keeping many, sensing they might hold value. They referred to these magical crystals as gifts from the fire in the sky, or lightning bolt.”
And not lore, but interestingly, a Tanzanian Maasai tribesman recently (2020) discovered 2 large pieces of Tanzanite, a total weight of about 14kgs (or around 30lbs!) They were sold to the government of Tanzania (for approx $3.3M) to be placed in a National Museum in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, so tourists can admire them 😍
Is red garnet actually a “blood stone”?
Red garnet was formed, according to Greek mythology, when Perseus beheaded Medusa. When her blood touched the earth, red garnet formed from the drops.
Did you know any of these legends, lore, or mythology already? If you want to dive further into this topic, might I recommend Crystal Lore, Legends & Myths by Athena Perrakis for even more.
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