Quartz crystals or silicon dioxide (SiO2) are perhaps the best known of all crystals. It is one of the most common minerals in the earth (about 12%). Our human body contains SiO2 in abundance as well, which would explain the Bible verse that says,”God created man out of the dust of the earth”. Quartz crystals are considered to be the “universal crystal”, and the mineral that most people are acquainted with.

Quartz crystallizes as a six sided prism with a termination that ends with 6 pyramid faces. There exists also a double terminated form, which is quite rare. The double terminated quartz crystal is considered to be the most balanced of all the quartz crystals, symbolizing the balance between yin and yang.

Quartz is one of the hardest substances on earth with a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale. It naturally occurs in a variety of forms such as well formed crystals or as compact masses or grains/druses.

There are many forms and variants of quartz crystal, which are caused by the inclusion of minerals in them, or due the immediate environment in which they are formed. Several varieties of quartz crystals are amethyst, rose quartz, smoky quartz, jasper, agate, and Herkimer Diamonds.

Clear quartz crystal

Quartz crystallizes from igneous magma, and the main types of rocks in which they are found are plutonic and volcanic rocks, with granite being a very common rock in which quartz occurs. Usually, quartz is distributed in veins that can run for many miles long. A curious form of quartz crystal is amorphous SiO2, or known as Lechatelierite, which is quartz formed from very high temperatures such as lightning strikes, meteorite crashes, or even nuclear explosions.

Quartz is widely used in crystal healing. It may be considered by some to be too “strong”, in which case a milder version to use would be agate or one of the other chalcedony varieties. Nonetheless, quartz is regarded as one of the main crystals for crystal healing therapy, and believed to help with a wide range of disorders as well as being perfect for making crystal elixir water.