Quartz In History
It is safe to say that Quartz has been collected since the earliest humans came into contact with it. Prehistoric burial sites contain many items and amoung them can be found Quartz. Quartz, to these early humans, must have seemed as gifts from nature and its clarity, beauty, and geometric perfection could only have instilled awe and reverance amoungst these cultures. Natural caves that contained Quartz, wherever they existed, became attractors for healers and sacred work around the world. These healers and the people who carried out this work are now for the most part called shamans. In ancient Egypt, glazed Quartz surved as a substitute when no high quatlity Turquoise could be found. The Greeks had originally named Quartz Krystallos, the word for ice, but this soon came to mean any crystal. Pliny the Elder believed Quartz was permanently frozen ice. His belief in this came from his idea that Quartz was to be found near claciers in the Alps and the fact that large Quartz crystals were fashioned into spheres to cool the hands. In China's Ming Dynasty, Quartz was often seen in jewelery. In Pre-Columbia, explorations of Mixtec graves have uncovered Quartz used for ear jewelery. In European history, Queen Elizabeth 1's spiritualist's crystal ball was Smokey Quartz which is also the national gem of Scotland who's national scepter included a large Smokey Quartz on top. European royalty in the 18th and 19th centuries went through a Quartz collecting "fad". In some cases this was the beginning of mineral collections now found in museums throughout Europe. The British believed that nine Quartz collected from a brook and boiled in water from the same brook would impart healing energies to the water. North American Indians used Quartz for ritual work and jewelry. Arrowheads, knives, and ornamental objects made of Quartz have been found throughout North America. Quartz crystals mounted on ceremonial bojects have been found in California. The Cherokee used them for divining as well as a charm for hunting. After a successful hunt they would rejuventate its powers by cleansing it in deer blood. The Hottentots used sharpened Quartz objects for sacrificing animals and circumcising young boys. In Australia the Aranda were known to initiate healers by rubbing thier bodies with Quartz to the point of causing abrasions. They would press crystals into his scalp and then proceed to other stages of the initiation including pearcing and tattooing. In places such as the Malay Peninsala, Australia, South America and to a lesser extent Siberia the shaman places Quartz into the initiate's head with the belief that they will eat out the initiate's brains and eyes and replace them thus becoming thier strength. In other cases the Quartz symbolizes the healers' helping spirits. I find it amazing that in all of the places above as well as within most cultures around the world Quartz was believed to carry within it the spirits of everything ranging from ancestors, animals, spirit guides and so on. And in all these areas these spirits were consulted to help with healing, finding souls and most importantly, initiatory rites. It was for these reasons that all of these cultures to some extent placed Quartz within the bodies of thier most sacred and trusted healers. What better way to access these spirits than to implant them into your physical body and truely become one with them. In some cases if a healer had undergone the proceedure of having Quartz placed within his body, after his death, the Quartz would be removed and reinserted into his favorite student. The use of Quartz on all levels of existance can be found throughout the world and throughout its cultures. Although some cultures delved deeper than others if one searches hard enough evidence of its use will be found world wide, both in the past as well as in the present.
Shamanism
The word shaman has its origin in manchu-tangu and has reached the ethnologic vocabulary through Russian. The word originated from saman (xaman), derived from the verb scha-, "to know", so shaman means someone who knows. Further ethnologic research shows that the true origin for the word Shaman can be tracked from the Sanskrit initially, then through Chinese-Buddhist mediation to the manchu-tangu, indicating a much deeper connection between early Buddhism and Shamanism. In Sanskrit it is Sramana translated to something like "buddhist monk". The intermediate Chinese term is scha-men. The Siberian and Central Asian peoples also had local terms for the Shaman. In alataic Turkish it was kam, in Yacuto, ojon, in the Butirates, boo, and in Central Asia, bakshi, for the Samoans, tadibe, Lapps, moita, Finnish, tieojo and Hungarians, taltos. Definitions of "Shaman" vary around the world. Here are a few. "Indigenous healer who deliberately alters his consciousness in order to obtain knowledge and power from the world of the spirits in order to help and cure the members of his tribe" (S. Krippner, 1990) The Ojibway, speaking of the Midewiwin, a Secret Ojibwa Medicine Society: "It is the person, man or woman, who experiences, absorbs, and communicates a special form of support, of healing power" (A. Grimm, 1987) "He who knows the archaic techniques of ecstasy" (M. Eliade, 1972) "A person to whom special powers are attributed for communicating with the spirits and influence them dissociating his soul from his body. The spirits help him do his chores which include discovering the cause of sickness, hunger and any disgrace, and prescribing an appropriate cure. They are found among the Siberians and other Asiatic people; his activity also evolves among many other religions and with other names." (The Cambridge Encyclopedia, 1990) "The eternal art of living in harmony with creation." (J. Matthews, 1991) "There are three key elements for defining Shamans: 1) They can voluntarily enter altered states of consciousness 2) In these states they can feel themselves "travel". 3) They use these journeys as a method of acquiring knowledge or power and for helping the people of their community." (R. N. Walsch, 1990) Shamanism, although not considered a religion today by its practitioners, is thought by some scholers to be the oldest religion in the world dating back 100,000 years or more. Shamans are considered masters at achieving altered states of consciousness and use these journeys to identify and heal individuals both mentaly and physically. Shamans are also looked at as being at one with nature and using plants and other materials such as Quartz to carry out thier work. They are catalysts of social evolution ever seeking to bring about change through magic and ritual in a natural environment.
Animatism
One cannot talk about Shamanism or any type of nature work without touching on the concept of "animatism". The word was first brought to us by an anthropologist named R.R. Marret who 100 years ago proposed that the origin of spiritual awareness was to be found amoungst indigenous peoples' widespread belief in a supernatural power that pervades and animates all things. He called this belief "animatism". Examples of this are found worldwide. Amoungst the Algonquins it is known as "manitou", Muslims called it "baraka", Chinese "Chi", Hindus "prana", Polynesians "mana", and the Kalahari Bushmen referred to this invisible force as "num". It was the cause of extraordinary events, both good and bad luck and unusual powers. All cultures believed that this force existed throughout the universe and that certain areas and objects tended to concentrate this energy. Most everyone today believes in the existence of this power. Shamans and natural healers however know with certainty that this energy is real. Indigenous cultures world wide agree that this power can be transmitted through touch, that it may be used for good and evil, that it can be absorbed through proximity, and that it can be stored in objects such as Quartz.
Mythology
In mythology the ancient Japanese, who revered Dragons as a major part of their creation myths, believed Quartz formed from the breath of a white dragon. To them, Quartz was representative of perfection, which, while unattainable, was worthy of pursuit. Indian culture believed it could detect food poisoning. Quartz played essential roles in the rain rituals of Native Americans and Australian Aboriginals. Daramulun, an Australian sky god is usually portrayed with a mouth full of Quartz, a huge phallus, and carrying a stone axe. Quartz also graced the temples of the ancient Chinese. In western culture, Christian relics were often made of Quartz and many thought it was ice in a fossilized form. The Greeks believed that Amor and Eros brought Rose Quartz to earth.
|