Feature
Luna's Mandala is excited to announce a new Feature. The Feature page will provide detailed information and a series of pictoral examples that will be periodically updated every three months.
These beautiful examples are available at the shop for purchase. Or email luna@lunasmandala.com if you are interested in anything.
Our current feature:
This month’s feature is on the amazing category of Quartz!
Quartz may be the most prolific mineral on earth with the exception of feldspar…
Quartz has a hardness of 7 (pretty hard) and a good way to test it is to scratch glass as it only has a hardness of 5 ½ . The size of the quartz is determined by the cooling process while forming: the faster the cool ~ the smaller the quartz! Quartz has a hexagonal crystal formation and usually forms 6 sided crystals however it is amazing all the different crystal systems that it forms…my personal favorite is the Herkimer Diamond!Quiz: While the Herkimer Diamond isn’t actually a diamond where it got it’s name from is just as interesting….take a guess!?! Get 15% off 1 item if you guess it right!
There are around 46 different types of crystal formations (“Love is in the Earth” ~ Melody). These are defined by differences in the way that the crystal forms; how many points, smooth or bumpy surfaces, number of sides and points, etc. A few of my favorite examples are:
~ Cluster Quartz – these come small and large clusters and can sometimes look like a field of fresh-fallen snow…they are magical! They are especially good for putting right in the entry way of your house to shield it from energy as other’s enter the home…
~ Elestial Quartz – this type of quartz has an etched or layered look over most of the body of the quartz ~ this is considered the “enchantment crystal”
~ Faden Quartz – this type of quartz has a white streak running down the center (looks like lightening) but an even cooler aspect is that they usually terminated (multiples) on each side of a flatter quartz crystal; this crystal is good for physical, mental and emotional stability; it cleanses the aura while opening and aligning the chakras…amazing!
Another amazing aspect of quartz is the variety of colors! What amazes me about the colors is that the different minerals inside the quartz is what gives it the different array of colors. Clear Quartz is the purist form and has no impurities of other minerals.
Other types:
~ Milky Quartz (Milky white - one of the most common): comes from tiny bubbles of water that were trapped when the quartz was forming…this giving it the milky appearance.
~ Amethyst (purple): color comes from trace amounts of iron (oxidized) and is exposed to the natural radiation from the earth; This is the stone of “spirituality & contentment”.
~ Smokey Quartz (grey/smoky): color comes from aluminum and is turned by the earth’s natural radiation, just like amethyst…Smokey Quartz is great for dissolving negative energy and emotional blockages.
~ Rose Quartz (pink): this color comes from titanium; rose quartz mainly comes from Brazil and South Dakota; rose quartz is the stone of “gentle love”.
~ Citrine (golden/yellow): What is amazing about citrine is that the color comes from the same mineral as Amethyst (iron) but is heated by earth or man to a hotter temperature that it changes the position of the crystal lattice and we see yellow rather than purple…cool, hugh? Citrine is a great stone to bring prosperity into your life!
The other forms of Quartz fall under the Cryptocrystalline category…all this means is that crystal structure if so tiny and inter-woven that you need to look under a microscope to see it. The categories are as follows:
~ Chalcedony: is a “solid, transparent or translucent form of quartz – really beautiful! Chalcedony is a good stone for balance.
~ Agate (found after in geodes like the above picture with amethyst): it is often banded in a variety of colors; good for inner stability.
~ Carnelian – this type of agate is orangish-red colored (comes from the iron content) Carnelian is a good grounding stone.
~ Chert or Flint is a fine-grained quartz often used in arrowheads (see pic below); stone provides stability.
~ Jasper is an opaque multi-colored form of quartz and provides protection.
SUPER TRIVIA QUESTION (only 1 trivia question can be answered for discount…choose wisely!) There is one more type of quartz that is not listed here…can you take a guess of what this is?
**Get this right and you get 50% off 1 item!!!!**
To view past FEATURES, click below:
Fluorite (Archive 1)
Selenite (Archive 2)
Animal Carvings (Archive 3)
Fossils (Archive 4)
Mandala (Archive 5)
Calcite (Archive 6)
Obsidian (Archive 7)
Going Green (Archive 8)
Quartz (Archive 9)
Kyanite (Archive 10)
Our New Space (Archive 11)
