Fabled travelers that they were, early Greeks found certain stones in the Alps that resembled ice, but did not melt. There is little doubt that the material referred to as Krystallos by ancient Greek writers was what we call today Rock Crystal, crystallized quartz. Since the quartz specimens they found came mostly from the Alps, they concluded that rock crystal must be ice that had been frozen so hard it would never melt.
Ancient Greece was a hot bed of theories. The atomists of the fourth century B.C., Leucippus, Democritus, Epicurus, Lucretius and Aristotle theorized that all matter consisted of an infinite number of indivisible particles called atoms. These atoms, they said, were the only reality and moreover, all these atoms were identical and homogenous. The shape, order and arrangement of these atoms accounted for the diversity of all natural objects.
The father of crystallography as a science was Theophrastus, a student of Aristotle who wrote the first treatise on gemstones about 300 B.C. He adapted the atomists theory to explain the formation of crystals. Crystals were stones whose atoms had tiny hooks and eyes that grasped each other in regular geometric patterns. He believed that crystals were, in fact, melted stone that had frozen so solid that it could not be melted again.
Plato had a different theory (428-348 B.C.) He imagined that nature was made up of powers or qualities of air, earth, fire and water. These powers were associated with and contained within, four fundamental geometric shapes of nature. The pyramidal four faced tetrahedron, the cube, the eight faced octahedron, and the twenty faced icosahedron. Plato explained that these elements were so tiny that they could not be seen, but they could assemble into more complex shapes by grouping together in series of triangles, they could be the basis of fixed figures. Because so many types of triangles existed, isosceles and equilateral, for example, nature could put together an innumerable series of configurations.Both these theories could explain the obvious characteristics of most crystals, their flat faces, regular angles etc. While the atomists believed all matter to be homogenous, Plato thought crystals were aggregates of the basic geometric shapes in nature. He describes crystals as follows:
Of the varieties of earth, the one which has been strained through water becomes a stony substance when the water mixed with it is broken by mixing. When that happens the water is changed into air and it rushes up to its own region. But as there is no empty space surrounding it, the rushing air thrusts against the surrounding air, which, being very heavy squeezes hard against the spaces in which it is contained. Earth thrust together by air forms stone that is not soluible by water. The finer and more transparent the stone, the more homogeneous its particles. The coarser the stone, the coarser its particles.
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) disagreed with Plato's argument because he believed that nature contained no vacuums or voids. Crystals had to form according to the shape of the space in which they grew. While these two schools of thought almost explain the process of crystal formation, no significant advances in the theory of crystallography occurred for another two thousand years.
The Roman scholar Pliny the Eldar (A.D. 23-79) gave rise to the theory that the crystals could bear young and became pregnant and gave birth to other crystals. Pliny modified this theory by adding that eagle stones could be found in eagles nests and thus must be required for eagle chicks to hatch.He further listed several varieties of eagles said to require eagle stones, plus locations where the phenomenon had been observed. Eagle stones he said consisted of male and female pairs. The female eggs were a pleasing white inside and made of a soft clay like material. The male eggs were red and contained a hard stone in the hollow middle.
German scholar George Bauer (1494-1555) His great contribution to crystallography was known for his assigned four alchemical qualities of salinity, ignitability, earthiness and metallicity to the properties of metals and crystals.
DeBoot (1573-1639) His work appeared during the Renaissance, a time when scientific knowledge based on observation was replacing religious dogma. The Renaissance ushered in an era in which political and intellectual circles accepted systems of thought that did not depend on religious authority. In its own way, his work represented the first scientific analysis of crystals.
In the middle 1600s, the Swiss philosopher Nicholas Steno (1638-1687) advanced crystallography by precisely measuring the various angles at which crystals intersect. His work challenged Platonic thinking by assuming a new set of conditions. Although he was unable to deduce the atomic lattice structure that is the basis of modern crystallography, Steno provided a key concept in our understanding of matter. Natural relationships that result from the interaction of forces occurring under identical conditions yield results that are always the same.
In 1774 a German scientist Abraham Werner (1736-1789) classified minerals by their properties of color, hardness and flammability. His work inspired a wave of investigation all over Europe which resulted in the development of the Periodic table of elements.
Russian chemist Dmitry Mendeleyev (1834-1907) who first formulated the Periodic table of elements, described physical properties for the elements that had not yet been isolated. Mendeleyev completed the transition in crystallography from superstition and myth to observed fact and mathematical explanation. He acknowledged the truth first articulated by Isaac Newton, whose work in physics matched Mendeleyev's in chemistry. He said "If I have seen further than others, it is because I stood on the sholders of giants".
In the late 1940?s, researchers found that by adding foreign atoms to the crystal, a transmitting device could be made. This was used in radios that amplified the electrical signals, sending them to the piezoelectric crystal which in turn vibrated, creating sound. This invention of the transmitter rendered vacuum tubes obsolete. Transmitters open the door to modern telecommunications equipment with their use in electrical items such as radios, televisions, and computers. Quartz is an ideal material to use as an oscillator. It loses very little energy as it vibrates, so the vibrations are extremely steady. It exhibits what scientists call the "piezoelectric effect", meaning that it vibrates in response to an electric charge and, conversely, generates voltage when it vibrates. This quality is central to the way a quartz watch operates. Without quartz we would not have mini or micro computers, electronic office equipment and other time saving devices.
In geological terms, crystals are classified as minerals. However, not all minerals are crystals, only those with a regular atomic structure forming a crystalline pattern. There are six (some references state seven with the trigonal separate from the hexagonal) basic patterns called isometric, tetragonal, hexagonal, or trigonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, and triclinic. Quartz, classified under the hexagonal category, forms a tetrahedron, an equilateral triangle with three sides, a base and all angles each measuring 60 degrees. The tetrahedron repeats itself by duplicating an open left or right spiral within the body of the crystal. The right or clockwise spiral is believed to be indigenous to those crystals found north of the equator, while the left counterclockwise twist is found in crystals south of the equator. The direction of the spiral in no way affects the energy properties of the quartz.The molecular structure of quartz consists of one atom of silicon and two oxygen atoms which combine to form silicon dioxide.Compression beneath the earth fuse these molecules into it's solid shape. The crystal will often contain impurities such as copper, tourmaline and other minerals while sharing its growth space. These inclusions will slightly alter the energy properties.
A triangle represents the universal building block from which all geometric shapes, including the circle and square are derived. The quantum building block of quartz crystal is a three- sided pyramid composed of equilqteral triangles. This shape is also one of the most important expressions of the law of three. Only an interaction between three forces can create movement. According to many ancient systems, all phenomena that exsist from the gods downward arise from an interaction of three forces. If only two forces were present, there would be a perfect balance with no movement. The introduction of a third force produces a reaction in the form of change or movement. This interaction is a universal law where nothing is allowed to remain static.
The Christian doctrine is based upon the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The three united to create our universe. In physics, the combination of two atoms of hydrogen with one oxygen produces water. One early twentieth century esoteric school of philosophy based its beliefs on the concept that the universe required the trinity of an active, passive and neutralizing force to create mental progression. In numerology, three is a number of completion, the beginning, middle and end. This law of three is perfectly represented within the geometric structure of quartz.
Generally, quartz crystals grow in a hexagonal (six sided) structure, with additional faces sloping towards a point at one end. A crystal with these characteristics is itself also called a point. Points may be totally clear and transparent, or they may contain streaks, lines, rainbows, water bubbles or other inclusions. They may also appear cloudy if they have grown in a place where it freezes in the winter. Optical clarity usually has little to do with a crystal's quality and its ability to amplify the subtle energies.
To date there is no hard scientific, medical or psychological evidence to corroborate the fact that crystals help to raise conscious awareness. Our scientific measuring tools are still to primitive. Instead, it is a private personal confirmation, a knowingness of being in balance with all aspects of the self that reveal how crystals assist us. Generally, the best crystals to be used for this expansion of awareness are natural, unpolished, quartz. These minerals can be described as living computers with none of the human impediments of emotion, judgement or skepticism. They are always ready, willing and able to perform a programmed task.