crystals Archives

Waterfall giant is modern masterpiece

May 16, 2014 by Andrew Leave a Comment

Looking at this picture you might well think ancient man helped carve a natural rock waterfall into this shape. However, this impressive landscape is entirely modern and part of the Swarovski experience.

Created by Andre Heller for Swarovski Crystal Worlds, the giant has lured more than 9 million visitors into its depths – where they find a cafe and a shop. The surrounding park also has a maze and art garden.

In Pure Spirit

Have you ever visited the Swarovski Crystal Worlds in Wattens? What did you make of your time there?

Crystal magic: Healing mugs

March 17, 2012 by Andrew Leave a Comment

Donna Rollins is an artisan potter and she’s hand-thrown a small collection of “Healing stone mugs”. Firstly, these mugs infuse clay with a number of minerals during the firing process. The next step is to crown each mug with a healing stone to help channel your energy.

The blue mug uses clear quartz which is considered to be very helpful for controlling healing energy.

The purple mug makes use of rose quartz. Many believe rose quartz is an important cyrstal not just for love but for the heart chakra.

The red mug uses tiger’s eye (or cat’s eye as some call it). This is a useful stone to have to help with meditation.

Lastly, the black mug uses citrine which can be used not just for regeneration energies but for boosting self-confidence and financial prosperity.

The mugs can be bought from Uncommon Goods until they sell out.

In Pure Spirit

Have you tried adding crystals and channeling stones to any pottery of your own? Are there any stones you would recommend?

Dan Aykroyd’s Crystal Skull Vodka

June 18, 2011 by Andrew 1 Comment

The movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull introduced the mystery of the crystal skulls to a wide audience. Are they really pre-Columbian Mesoamerican artifacts commonly associated with paranormal phenomena? Or are they modern day hoaxes?

Dan Aykroyd – yup, from Ghostbusters – is not just a believer; he is an investor. Aykroyd is one of two co-founders of Crystal Head Vodka. I suspect that he and his fellow co-founder, the artist John Alexander, aren’t allowed to call the company Crystal Skull Vodka legally.

Did you know Dan Aykroyd was a believer in spirtualism?

In Pure Spirit

What do you think? Can you see yourself ordering a bottle or two of crystal skull vodka as a gift for someone?

Do you think all the crystal skulls that have been reported are hoaxes? Or do you think there is something to this story?

Wear turquoise for business trips

April 18, 2009 by Andrew Leave a Comment

Turquoise is a good stone to wear for business trips; it helps for both money matters and travel.

The Arabic name for it, Fayruz, means lucky stone and turquoise was sometimes known as the horseman’s talisman. Horsemen would wear it, mounted in gold, in order to protect themselves from falls. A second turquoise stone was often added to the horse’s saddle in order to protect the animal.

An ancient ritual sometimes used to encourage wealth makes use of turquoise. The ritual needs to be performed during the New Moon and for the caster to avoid looking at the moon until the spell.

The caster would hold the turquoise in their hand while visualising money entering their life. Slowly they would look up to the new moon – sighting it for the first time that month – and then back down to the turquoise. The stone would then be carried until the money arrived.

In Pure Spirit

Which crystal would you recommend for business trips and travelling?

The real Swarovski rainbow maker

January 4, 2009 by Andrew 2 Comments

Rainbow makers are becoming very fashionable. The concept is simple; an appropriately shaped crystal is hung in the window and when the sunlight catches it the beams of light are refracted into rainbows.

Some Feng Shui practioners use the crystal rainbow makers to help the flow of chi by windows. Feng Shui teaches it is best to sit or sleep facing an open area or window – as represented by the phoenix – and some practioners believe that the rainbow makers can accentuate the benefit of a small windows.

Rainbow makers are also simply but effectively used to add light or interest to a room.

In particular, a set of rather fetching designs by the inventor David Dear of Kikkerland have proven to be especially popular. It is these designs that are most commonly sold by shops offering rainbow makers for sale.

The David Dear designs are solar powered. They stick to the window and when the solar panels have enough energy a motor turns the crystal. It is this turning that not only maximises the ability of the cryrstal to produce rainbows but which allows the little spots of rainbows to dance across the walls.

The crystal used in the David Dear design are Swarovksi crystals. Swarovksi do not sell the product themselves but they do allow design companies like Kikkerland to use their crystals provided quality standards and assurance are met.

Swarovski do produce a charming window ornament* which is a clear crystal disc with an amethyst heart in the middle. The crystal is suspended by a string decorated with coloured and clear crystal beads. The ornament (currently in their New Year sale*) can also refract the light and produce rainbows.

In Pure Spirit

Do you have a rainbow maker? Is it one of the David Dear designs? What tips do you have for helping the chi flow in flats or apartments with small windows?

Disclaimer: Links marked with the star* are revenue links.

Crystals for a good New Year

December 31, 2008 by Andrew Leave a Comment

There are two stages in using crystals to encourage a good New Year. The first stage is to appropriately ring out the old year and the second stage, of course, is to ring in the new.

Two good crystals for closing the old year are moldavite and kyanite. Each one is good for bringing old beliefs to the surface and coping with them.

Moldavite is an aid to discovering our own negative beliefs about our physical self. This crystal (which is formed by meteorite impact; it is a crystal from space) is actually very good at helping us cope with our existence on the earth plane.

Kyanite reminds us that we are allowed to have a hand in our own future even though we may not always see the higher purpose.

The choice of crystals to welcome in a New Year depends very much on your goals of the New Year; if you’re looking for love then a stone such as rose quartz may be appropriate whereas chrysocolla may be the crystal best suited to helping you stick to your fresh New Years’ ideas.

A common goal for many people at the start of the New Year is to achieve some significant spiritual growth. In this case both clear quartz and amethyst are useful.

Amethyst, in particular, is a transition stone. The crystal connects the spiritual consciousness with the physical self. Similarly, clear quartz is often held by the dominant hand during meditation or placed with another crystal in order to enhance the other’s energy.

In Pure Spirit

Which crystals would you recommend to welcome in the New Year? Is this something you’ve tried before?