Glossary 12 terms

Lithotherapy

  1. Lithotherapy Lithotherapy is a symbolic, cultural practice of using stones and crystals to support intentions and a sense of wellbeing. Inherited from ancient traditions, it associates each…
  2. Chakra In the Indian tradition, the chakras are seven energy centers aligned along the spine, from the root to the crown of the head. Each is linked to a color, a life theme and a…
  3. Cleansing a stone Cleansing a stone is the ritual of clearing it and then recharging it in lithotherapy. Clearing is done with water, herb smoke or sound; recharging, with moonlight or a cluster…
  4. Amethyst Amethyst is a purple variety of quartz, ranging in tone from pale mauve to deep violet. In lithotherapy, tradition associates it with calm, intuition and restful sleep, and…
  5. Rose quartz Rose quartz is a pale pink variety of quartz, sometimes deepening to a stronger rose. In lithotherapy, tradition associates it with tenderness, self-love and gentleness, and…
  6. Obsidian Obsidian is a natural volcanic glass, most often deep glossy black, formed by the rapid cooling of lava. In lithotherapy, tradition associates it with protection and grounding,…
  7. Citrine Citrine is a yellow to golden variety of quartz, its tone recalling honey or autumn sunlight. In lithotherapy, tradition associates it with joy, confidence and abundance, and…
  8. Mohs scale The Mohs scale is a scale of mineral hardness devised in 1812 by the German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs. It ranks ten reference minerals, from talc (1) to diamond (10), by…
  9. Quartz Quartz is one of the most abundant minerals in the Earth's crust, made of crystallized silicon dioxide (SiO₂). With a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, it comes in many…
  10. Geode A geode is a rock cavity whose inner walls are lined with crystals, formed over millennia by underground waters rich in dissolved minerals. The best known are the amethyst…
  11. Tumbled stone A tumbled stone is a piece of rough mineral mechanically polished in a rotating drum with progressively finer abrasives, until it takes on a rounded shape that is smooth to the…
  12. Crystal elixir A crystal elixir is water in which a stone has rested, or to which it has been presented, so as to pass on, in the lithotherapy tradition, the imprint of the mineral. Medieval…