Mystical Spirit Quartz
One of my favourite crystals has to be Spirit Quartz. This beautiful variety of Quartz is found only in South Africa, in the Mountain Region of Magaliesburg which is in Gauteng Province near Pretoria, South Africa. This mountain range is extremely old, 2300 million years old, or 100 times the age of the Himalayas making it one of the oldest mountain ranges on Earth.
This stone is also known as Cactus Quartz, Fairy Quartz, Witch Finger Quartz, Spirit Amethyst, Angel Quartz, but the names also vary depending on their appearance.
What I find extremely unique about these crystals is the many terminations that form all over the matrix. With the many little points of crystals, it culminates to a huge termination right at the tip, commonly displaying phantoms, rainbows and record keepers. With so many terminations, this crystal really sparkles in the light and is an excellent display piece.
There are also numerous colors of Spirit Quartz, along with various sizes of terminations. The most common color of Spirit Quartz is white or colourless, with pale lavender tips as well. Another common color that is most popular is the lilac or lavender colored Spirit Quartz. Only 1% of all material that is mined exhibits deep purple color which is more commonly attributed to Amethyst. Originally, Spirit Quartz or Spirit Amethyst was named after those with the deep purple color due to a Spirits or rubbing alcohol used in South Africa which is purple color.
In fact this is not a new stone, according to Spirit Rock Shop, Spirit Quartz were recorded in the book "Minerals of South Africa" with a photo dating back to 1987. The mine location has been kept secret and hence this was one of the 'disappearing stones' for awhile, and now they are available once again!
Many of these pieces have record keepers on their crystal faces. Record keepers are triangles etched on the crystal faces. They are known to store wisdom from ancient times, and there are various forms of record keepers depending on the shape of the triangle - equilateral triangles are known as Master Record Keepers. If there are many triangles on the face, the piece is also known to be a Master Record Keeper!
Not only do Spirit Quartz have record keepers in most pieces, many of them also have very unique etchings known as glyphs, which could be codes, storing ancient wisdom or information. Meditate with these pieces or just gaze into the depths of them.
Generally and across all variants, Spirit Quartz relieves loneliness or sense of being out-casted from members in the family. [Eason] Spirit Quartz is a social and community stone, bringing people together. Hence it is the perfect stone for sibling or family rivalries. Keep this in the living room of your house or in a meeting room in the workplace to encourage collaboration. If you have a new member of the family, or even a new pet, Spirit Quartz is known to help the members bond together, and keep the peace within the household. [Eason]
Bring a small piece of Spirit Quartz with you in a pouch or bag if you work in public service, such as health-care or teaching. This is known to help one focus on the work of caring for the people instead of being bogged down by targets or budget pressures. [Eason]
Fairy Quartz
Fairy Quartz is a baby Spirit Quartz which has many small druzy points, that are milky white or colorless. Due to its light color, the stone commonly exhibits the color of its base rock or if it was iron-stained, a brown-red color. Fairy Quartz also tends to only have small druzy points and fewer large terminations. It is also referred to as Witch Finger or Fairy Finger Quartz. Since this is a young crystal, it has a very subtle energy. Use Fairy Quartz to bring some light-hearted energy of joy and optimism, and cleansing to your aura.
White Spirit Quartz
This is the most commonly mined form of Cactus Quartz in the market. The tips range from colorless to white to lavender. They are known to be a crystal of harmony and alignment, with a very spiritually uplifting energy. They are cleansing to the aura, dispelling negative energy and in fact are also known to be cleansing to other stones.
Use Spirit Quartz to clear blockages from all chakras and for healing work.
Lavender to Dark Purple Spirit Amethyst
Dark purple Spirit Amethyst is the most rare variant of the Spirit Quartz family, comprising only 1% of all the materials mined. As with all purple stones, they activate the Crown chakra, bringing in spiritual information. The purple color also stimulates creativity and passion.
The very dark purple Spirit Amethyst also tend to have the largest terminations, with record keepers and Amethyst phantoms inside, as well as hematite inclusions. Look at the terminations through a loupe and you can see the little hematite 'needles'.
Many Spirit Quartz pieces come with natural iron staining which makes the color more intense.
[Eason, pp. ]Cassandra Eason, The New Crystal Bible (London: Carlton Books Ltd., 2010).
[Eason, pp. ] Cassandra Eason, Crystals - Everything you need to know to (Carlton Books Ltd., 2015)