Rose Quartz

Rose quartz is a form of quartz vibrant pink in colour. It was thought the colour comes from traces of manganese or titanium, but recent studies suggest the rosy hue is largely due to silicate phases such as dumortierite within the mineral (Kibar et al., 2007). The quartz mineral group is the second-most abundant mineral source in the world. It is found in many pegmatites as compact masses, rarely being found crystallized in hydrothermal veins unlike Amethyst or Citrine.

With a vitreous lustre, a suitable hardness of 7 on the Moh’s scale, and being renowned worldwide as the “love stone”, rose quartz is popularly used in jewelry, charms, and other small figurines. It is commonly found in jewellry, but not so much as a cut gemstone due to its often cloudy appearance.

The crystal is usually found slightly opaque, cracked or turbid. It also tends to lose its colour when heated, and turn dark brown or black when exposed to radiation (Darling, 35).

History

Rose quartz has been regarded for centuries as the stone of unconditional love. All problems concerning the heart, femininity, and fertility has been associated with this stone (Gienger, 362). Today, wearing or carrying a heart-shaped rose quartz is believed to attract love.

The stone has been used as a symbol of love and beauty for thousands of years. Rose quartz beads were discovered in the area once known as Mesopotamia, or modern-day Iraq, that date back to 7,000 BC. The first recorded uses of the stone however dates around 800 to 600 BC and is accredited to the Assyrians and Romans. The Assyrians were known to craft jewellry and other carved objects from rose quartz, and the Romans used it for making seals to denote ownership. Both cultures regard the mineral as a strong healing stone. Ancient Egyptians believed that among many of its healing effects was to prevent aging (Sofianides et al., 143).

Healing Properties

This stone helps to stimulate blood ciruclation in bodily tissues, as well as strengthening the heart and reproductive organs. It is also believed to encourage fertility.

Mentally, rose quartz helps to liberate a person from worry, and instead offer sympathy to others. It helps to address problems of unfulfillment in childhood by giving the holder a sense of belonging and content reminiscence.

On an emotional level, the rosy stone imparts empathy, sensitivity, romance, and the ability to love others. The idea behind these traits is that, rose quartz is a stone that primarily teaches one to properly respect and love themselves. In turn, those feelings of self-respect and fulfillment gives one the capacity to love and to sympathize with others. In terms of relationships, rose quartz is able to help ease the pain and emotional trauma of a broken heart.

Spiritually, rose quartz makes one gentle yet firm. Of possessing pliability and perseverence that can be described as “a gentle, soft nature overcoming the hard, strong one” (Gienger, 362). Helpfulness, openness, reliability, and the desire to be surrounded by a pleasant ambience are other traits offered to one on a spiritual level. In the past, a small rose quartz stone was placed upon newborn babies to help their spirits integrate seamlessly from the spirit world to the physical realm (Sosfianides et al., 143).

Scientific info

References

Kibar, R. et al., “Luminescent, optical and color properties of natural rose quartz”, Radiation Measurements 42 (2007): 1610-1617.
Peter Darling, Crystal Identifier (New York: Shooting Star Press, Inc., 1996), 35.
Michael Gienger, Crystal Power, Crystal Healing (London: Cassell & Co., 2000), 362.
Anne S. Sofianides, and George E. Harlow, Gems and Crystals: From the American Museum of Natural History (Rocks, Minerals and Gemstones) (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1991), 143.
Mindat.org. “Rose Quartz.” Accessed September 20, 2010 <http://www.mindat.org/min-3456.html>