Shaping Up
Carved and Polished Crystals
Crystals come in a wide range of shapes and sizes—some natural and some augmented with a little help from modern technology.
Amulets are tokens and charms that are typically carved out of stone. They can be worn or carried for good luck, but they are usually carried for protection from evil.
Cabochons are gemstones that have been cut and polished into smooth domes. The word cabochon comes from the French word caboche, which means “head.” Cabochons don’t have facets.
Eggs symbolize fertility, for obvious reasons, as well as related concepts like potential, new development, and the early stages of creation. Eggs also represent safety and protection from outside elements. Egg-shaped crystals and stones can sometimes symbolize the cosmic egg, the mythical source of all creation.
Hearts represent romantic love and emotional healing.
Massage wands are smooth, palm-size wands or rods. Massage wands fit nicely in the hand, and they can be a great aid in massage and healing. Massage wands are usually rounded at one end, to glide smoothly over the body, and pointed at the other for acupressure, reflexology, or chakra healing. You can roll a massage wand over clothes, or use one with oil on bare skin.
Obelisks are four-sided pillars that terminate in a pyramid shape. Many classic monuments, like the Washington Monument, are obelisks. Symbolically, an obelisk can discharge tension and high-pressure energy through its tip, sending it high into the atmosphere to be dissipated and dispersed. An obelisk can also draw energy in from the upper atmosphere and ground that energy through its base.
Pyramids, like the famous landmarks in Egypt and Central America, have a square base and four triangle-shaped sides. A pyramid can draw spiritual energy through its apex and ground it solidly at its base. Pyramids represent a blend of the spiritual and physical. They are long lasting and stable, and they serve as a valuable reminder of ancient architecture, ancient beliefs, and the power of sacred geometry. Pyramid crystals can be used to focus and ground energy, and some people also use pyramids of metal and glass to charge their crystals.
Skulls, eerie carved crystals in the shape of miniature human heads, have been credited with amazing supernatural powers. The most famous crystal skull was said to be discovered in 1924 by F. A. Mitchell-Hedges, a British adventurer, whose teenage daughter found the skull under an ancient altar in some ancient Mayan ruins. The skull is life-sized, and it looks like a real human skull—right down to the movable jawbone. It weighs more than eleven pounds, all carved from a single piece of quartz. Oddly enough, the skull appears to have been carved against the natural axis of the stone, which should have shattered the crystal. There are no tool marks or scratches on the crystal, either, which means that researchers can’t explain how it was produced.
Some people believe that crystal skulls were used in ancient religious ceremonies, in which priests would manipulate the skulls and make them seem to speak to their congregants. Some people believe crystal skulls contain ancient secrets and long-lost wisdom. Some people also believe that crystal skulls are healing oracles, with the power to shepherd humanity into a new age of peace and harmony.
Miniature crystal skulls, carved from a wide variety of quartz, are widely available. You can use a crystal skull to tap into your own source of ancient wisdom and connect to humanity on a wide scale.
Spheres and crystal balls—which are, after all, three-dimensional circles—symbolize the cyclical nature of life and the spherical construction of the universe. They remind us of unity and completion, and events coming full circle. They remind us of the earth itself, a giant, spinning globe. They remind us of potency and possibility, like the rounded form of a pregnant woman. Circles symbolize infinity because they have no beginning and no end. They also represent harmony because there are no sharp angles or edges.
Talismans are ornate, carved objects, often made of engraved metal and ornamented with carved crystals and stones. Talismans are worn for luck; they are designed to bring good things to their wearers.
Totems are crystals that have been carved in the shape of an animal or a mythical creature. Totems can symbolize your spirit, your cultural traditions, or your membership in a tribe or a community. Totems can come in any shape, but some popular choices include bears, which symbolize ferocious maternal instincts and protection; cats, which symbolize independence, regal bearing, agility, multiple lives, and magic; dragons, which symbolize a fiery spirit, guardianship, and power over obstacles and foes; owls, which symbolize wisdom and night vision; rabbits, which symbolize fertility and luck; snakes, which symbolize rebirth, sexuality, wisdom, and temptation; turtles, which symbolize longevity, self-defense, and self-sufficiency; and wolves, which symbolize one’s primal nature and untamed spirit.
Tumbled stones. At the seashore, Mother Nature washes rocks and pebbles in sand and salt water until they are polished, beautiful, and smooth. Rock tumblers do the same thing by tossing and mixing stones and crystals for days or weeks on end in a gritty polishing mix.
Tumbled stones are beautiful. They’re usually so polished they look wet; that polish also serves to liberate the color and shine that can be buried in a crystal’s rough exterior.
Tumbled stones are durable. By the time they have made it through a month in a rock tumbler, they won’t scratch each other or break when they come into contact with each other, like uncut and unpolished crystals might.
Tumbled stones are affordable. You can buy them by the piece, by the bag, or by the pound.
It’s easy to identify stones and crystals that have been tumbled: their true colors are more vivid, and their characteristics are more recognizable. It’s easy to store and display tumbled stones, too. You can keep them together in a single dish or a drawstring bag—they need far less special treatment than crystals and stones in their natural state. That makes tumbled stones highly portable, too. They fit smoothly in a pocket or a purse, which also makes it easy to give them away as impromptu gifts and good luck charms.
Tumbled stones seem ready-made for laying on in healing sessions or gridwork. They don’t have any rough edges that could poke or scratch, and they are so smooth that they will usually simply fall off or roll away when their work is done.
Vogel-cut crystals were the brainchild of Marcel Vogel, an IBM scientist who decided to cut quartz into the shape of the Kabbalistic tree of life, a symbolic diagram that illustrates the structure of the universe. Both ends of a Vogel-cut crystal are terminated, but one end is larger and cut at a 51-degree angle. Vogel-cut crystals are beautiful, and those who own them say they can amplify and focus energy better than uncut crystals or crystals that have been cut into other shapes.
Worry stones are flat, with a shallow groove carved into one side. Just as the name implies, when you are anxious or worried, you can hold a worry stone in the palm of your hand and rub it back and forth with your thumb to calm down.