The Ancient Power of Crystals E-Book

Philip Permutt

• Herausgeber: CICO Books
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 151

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

The new guide from PHILIP PERMUTT, 'Britain's leading crystal expert' (Daily Mail). Discover how CRYSTALS have helped people throughout HISTORY and learn ways to HARNESS this age-old WISDOM for today. From American First Nations' tales of the healing power of crystals to weapons used by cavemen and in sacrificial ceremonies by the Aztecs, The Ancient Power of Crystals offers an exciting journey through time through the eyes and energy of the mineral world, showing how crystals have helped to create the world we live in today. Learn about lost civilisations such as Lemuria and Atlantis and their applications of crystals for both healing and power, and find out how methods that were used to work with crystals in the past can be adapted for the present day. Tap into ancient lost knowledge by working with crystals to communicate with spirit guides, angels and guardians, to heal yourself and others, and to grow your personal energy. This is an essential guide for anyone who is interested in how crystals have changed the world – and how crystals can change their own life, too.

Leseprobe

the Ancient Power of Crystals

the Ancient Power of Crystals

HISTORY, LEGENDS, AND HEALING PRACTICES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Philip Permutt

Published in 2025 by CICO Books

An imprint of Ryland Peters & Small Ltd

20–21 Jockey’s Fields

1452 Davis Bugg Road

London WC1R 4BW

Warrenton, NC 27589

www.rylandpeters.com

Email: [email protected]

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Text © Philip Permutt 2025

Design © CICO Books 2025

Illustration and photography © CICO Books 2025, except as otherwise listed on page 143

The author’s moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

US Library of Congress CIP data has been applied for.

ISBN: 978 1 80065 462 4

E-ISBN: 978 1 80065 547 8

Printed in China

Desk editor: Imogen Valler-Miles

Senior designer: Emily Breen

Art director: Sally Powell

Creative director: Leslie Harrington

Production manager: Gordana Simakovic

Head of production: Patricia Harrington

Publishing manager: Carmel Edmonds

The authorised representative in the EEA is Authorised Rep Compliance Ltd., Ground Floor. 71 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin, D01 P593, Ireland www.arccompliance.com

SAFETY NOTE

Please note that while the descriptions of the properties of crystals refer to healing benefits, they are not intended to replace diagnosis of illness or ailments, or healing or medicine. Always consult your doctor or other health professional in the case of illness.

Not all crystals are suitable for elixirs. Always check that your chosen crystal’s elixir is safe to drink. If you are in doubt, consult your crystal healer.

The safe and proper use of candles and incense is the sole responsibility of the person using them. Do not leave a burning candle unattended. Never burn a candle on or near anything that might catch fire. Keep candles out of the reach of children and pets.

Neither the author nor the publisher can be held responsible for any claim arising out of the use or misuse of suggestions made in this book.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

Cavemen to Astronauts:

History Through the Eyes of Crystals and Minerals

Chapter 2

Crystal Legends:

Stories from Around the World

Chapter 3

Lemurian Quartz Crystals:

How They Became Supercharged Healers

Chapter 4

Ancient Knowledge and Inner Wisdom:

Accessing Past Lives and Answers from Within

Chapter 5

Crystal Healing:

From Ancient Origins to the Modern Age

Conclusion: Our Crystal Future

Resources and Further Reading

Glossary

Index

Picture Credits

Acknowledgments

Introduction

For the past 33 years, I’ve been exploring the world of crystals, as well as their healing properties and other beneficial effects. However, the story starts way back in time—in fact, around 3.5 million years ago when one of our earliest hominin ancestors picked up a stone and shaped it into a functioning tool—and runs continuously through to today’s twenty-first-century Space Age.

Crystals have always been at the cutting edge of human technology. They have helped to guide and shape humanity in all its guises, through all its civilizations, including those which have been recently recorded during the last 8,000 years or so, and those just being rediscovered from prehistory. As well as being described in ancient texts, such as those from China, Egypt, Greece, India, Israel, and Mesopotamia, physical archaeological evidence has been discovered around the world with finds of crystal and stone tools dating back some 3.5 million years to the very beginnings of our human journey.

Around the world, Indigenous healers, such as shamans and medicine people, have always worked with crystals to help cure the sick and see into other dimensions and times. In fact, just about all the technology used in modern medicine, such as CT scanners and X-ray machines, rely on these same crystals to function and allow doctors to see into the body. Many other modern technologies, including electric vehicles, satellites circling the Earth, interplanetary spacecraft, and even the cell phone in your pocket rely on the ancient power of crystals.

Within the following pages, I take you through humanity’s crystal history to today and beyond into the world that we and our children might one day live in. This book challenges our concept of the past and opens doors to the future, but it’s not just to be read. With plenty of practical exercises, you will discover how to connect to crystals, your past, and maybe even your future, on a journey through time and through yourself.

I use the term “crystal” colloquially to encompass the whole mineral world, which includes crystals, minerals, stones, rocks, pebbles on a beach, huge megaliths, and potentially even mountains. They are all part of our natural world. In some Native American cultures, crystals are referred to as the Stone People, and they have been helping our technical evolution for millions of years. We live on a crystalline planet which our prehuman ancestors worked to their advantage, slowly bringing humanity to its current place where we are exploring the stars and looking for other crystalline planets that may support life.

Enjoy, experience, and experiment with this book, and follow the stepping stones I offer to understanding our past and our future.

Chapter 1

Cavemen to Astronauts:

History Through the Eyes of Crystals and Minerals

Human development has always depended on the abilities and power of crystals—every civilization throughout history has developed technology or healing practices based on crystals. From early hominins to modern Homo sapiens, there is one thing each era has in common—working with crystals to create and form the latest tools of the time. Today, we rely on crystals in our cell phones, computers, lasers, for space travel, and much, much more. Who knows where crystal technology will take us in the future?

Just One Morning…

When you wake up in the morning, what do you do? Perhaps your alarm has gone off on your quartz clock, watch, or cell phone. Then maybe you turn on the light, which is powered by electricity that may come from solar panels on your roof or from an electrical grid, which is powered, at least in part, by crystalline technology.

You cook breakfast in your microwave oven and eat it while watching the television, listening to the radio, or streaming music through your Wi-Fi. Next, you grab some clean clothes from your tumble dryer, put some dirty ones in your washing machine, and turn the dishwasher on.

You hop into your car and drive to work, but there’s traffic, so you check your satnav or GPS device for a different route, or maybe you have taken the bus or train instead. Running late, you get to your office, turn on your computer, and then look at the beautiful amethyst crystal sitting on your desk and you feel a calmness come over you. And you realize that every single thing you have done this morning has relied on crystal technology.

Just imagine our ancient ancestors sitting under the stars on a moonlit night and imagining their future…

A Crystal Timeline

Crystals have played a crucial role throughout human history. This timeline highlights some of the most interesting ways in which we have worked with crystals through the ages. Some dates are approximate.

3.5million years ago, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa

Excavations at the Cradle of Humankind (a site roughly 30 miles (50 km) northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa) have unearthed ancient stone tools that would have been employed by our early human ancestors at this time.

3.2million years ago, Ethiopia

Carnelian beads were placed in burials, presumably to protect the soul on its journey to the afterlife. It was only a short time after our ancestors first started working with crystals and stones as everyday tools that they began to link them with their spiritual beliefs.

Cave at the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa

Carnelian beads

Example of an Oldowan stone tool

2.9million years ago, Nyayanga, Kenya

Early hominins used stone toolkits (known as Oldowan tools), which included hammerstones (rounded stones used as a hammering tool), cores, and sharp, cutting flakes. Collectively, these tools were used to pound, scrape, and cut both plant and animal material—this included the butchery of hippopotamuses. Recovered from an excavation site called Nyayanga in western Kenya, these ancient tools were much more sophisticated than older stone tools that have been discovered.

2.5–1.9million years ago, East Africa

It is likely that early humans were experimenting with controlled fire throughout this period.

1.9million years ago, Turkana Basin (which stretches into Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Uganda)

Fossil records suggest that controlled fire was regularly being used for the first time. Ancient hominins would have created fire by striking two pieces of flint or pyrite together to produce a spark, which was then caught in a combustible wad. Fire would have provided light, warmth, safety, and the ability to cook food.

Early hominins used flint (below) to create fire, as well as pyrite.

700,000years ago, Lomekwi 3 Site, West Turkana, Kenya

The next stage of tool development included sharp stone tools, hammers, and anvils, which were utilized by our ancestral cousins and still predate the earliest Homo species.

Fire: A Turning Point in Human History

Up until this point in evolution, like most other animals on the planet, we spent most of our time doing three things: eating, reproducing, and resting.

Then came fire…

Light allowed us to do things for longer. We were no longer limited in our activity by sunlight or the full moon.Warmth permitted our global expansion by enabling us to live in less hospitable climates, which opened up new areas for exploration.Safety, brought about by other animals’ fear of fire, meant less time focused on defence.Cooking enabled us to live off less food (because cooked food contains more calories), and spend less time hunting and gathering.

In a short time, in evolutionary terms, we changed physically—our bowel shortened because cooked food is easier to digest, so we could make do with a smaller abdomen, allowing other parts of the body, such as the lungs and the brain, to increase in size. The brain developed and we began to occupy ourselves with art, stories, looking back in time, and contemplating and planning for the future.

The ability to create and control fire was a big game changer in human evolution.

335,000years ago, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa

There is evidence from the Rising Star cave system at the Cradle of Humankind (see page 11) to suggest that Homo naledi (an extinct human relative) buried their dead and made etchings on the cave walls. Stone tools were discovered nearby, which were first used to smooth the rock surface, then to carve the markings.

105,000years ago, Ga-Mohana Hill North Rockshelter, Kalahari Desert, South Africa

Calcite crystals have been discovered at a sacred shelter in the Kalahari Desert, away from their natural environment. This suggests that the crystals were deliberately collected and transported there from another location for a specific and special purpose.

Kalahari Desert, South Africa

Crystal Practices in the Kalahari Desert

The crystals were all clear, optical calcite crystals (also called “Iceland spa”), which exhibit double refraction and could be regarded as being quite magical, though they don’t have an obvious practical purpose.Burned ostrich eggshell fragments and crushed animal bones were also found at the site, which are possible indicators of ritualized feasting or offerings.This is an example of early humans displaying complex cultural and symbolic behavior.The site has been in perpetual use and is still considered holy by the local people.

100,000years ago, Lemuria (modern-day Madagascar and India)

Crystals, notably quartz, were possibly employed in technology and in the recording of the Lemurian civilization (see Chapter 3, page 52).

74,000years ago, Ethiopia

Human technology moved on—the bow and arrow were invented, and jasper and obsidian were employed to create arrowheads for this new weapon. Stone arrowheads have also been discovered dating from this period.

40,000years ago, Japan

There is possible evidence of microlithic tools being used at this time (see also “17,000 years ago,” page 16).

Obsidian arrowhead

Archery was a primary hunting technique in prehistoric times.

Lemurian quartz crystal

33,000years ago, Chiquihuite Cave, Mexico

Cutting tools made from stone and shaped crystal points have been discovered in a high-altitude cave in the Astillero Mountains in Mexico. Many of the artifacts, specifically human-made tools, show signs of wear from use.

17,000years ago, Magdalenian Cultures, Europe

Microlithic technology was developed to create composite tools and weapons by joining small, razor-sharp crystal or stone flakes to another structural material, such as bone or wood.

This was a major leap in technological advancement because it made much more efficient use of available materials, especially cherts (primarily flint), but it also required great skill in manufacturing the component parts.

9,000years ago, Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq, as well as parts of Iran, Syria, and Turkey)

Crystals were considered powerful tools for divination. There are records of rose quartz, chlorite stone, and other materials being employed as amulets for protection and healing.

In the earliest known writings from this period, all of these practices were considered normal, which suggests they were not new discoveries and that their origins are much older. Rose quartz beads have also been found dating back to this time. (See also page 106.)

Tunnel entrance to the Chiquihuite Cave in Mexico

Rose quartz and chlorite in quartz

6,500years ago, Egypt

The ancient Egyptians held a strong belief in the magical powers of crystals and stones, primarily for health and for protection in this life and the next. Chrysolite, peridot, topaz, galena, lapis lazuli, and malachite were all commonly employed in spiritual practices. Many practical, everyday objects were made of crystals, and crystals were worn to demonstrate power and position. This practice continues around the world to this day, with jewels integrated into sacred objects of power, such as the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. (See also page 107.)

6,000years ago, Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq, as well as parts of Iran, Syria, and Turkey)

The Sumerians, an ancient civilization of Mesopotamia, employed crystals in magical formulas for healing. This was possibly the first record of crystal elixirs, which were also utilized in Samaria, an ancient region of Israel, 3,000 years later (see page 108).

5,000years ago (or longer) to modern day, China

Traditional Chinese Medicine has its roots in Chinese shamanism. Like many shamanic traditions from around the world, crystals were (and still are) worked with extensively in China for healing and divination. Also around this time, chlorite stone and jade were formed into disk beads, ornaments, and practical vessels. (See also page 108.)

The bi is a flat, circular jade artifact from ancient China.

Peridot

5,000years ago, Israel and Egypt

The Bible mentions minerals, rocks, and crystals more than 1,700 times, along with references to their special powers, healing properties, and energy from God. Sometimes, the Bible also includes crystals and gemstones as metaphors, including “as clear as crystal” (Revelation 22:1) and “salt of the Earth” (Matthew 5:13). Agate was one of the gems set into the breastplate of the High Priest. It was thought to protect him from the all-consuming power of God, allowing him to be in the presence of God, without being consumed by God’s energy, and to interpret and relay his words, commands, and teachings to the people.

5,000years ago, British Isles, France, and Portugal

Giant megalithic stone monuments, including Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles, were built in the UK and other parts of Europe to connect people to the celestial world and to mark special moments in the calendar, such as the summer and winter solstices. Crystals were worn as amulets and worked with for healing, and everyday objects, such as spearheads and knives, have also been unearthed from this period. (See also page 109.)

3,500years ago to modern day, Mexico and Central and South America

The Olmec, Toltec, Aztec, Maya, and Inca civilizations all employed crystals for both ritualistic purposes and as everyday practical tools and weapons. Some tools were highly decorated with other crystals and minerals, such as gold, jade, and turquoise, with jade being more highly valued than gold. (See also page 108.)

Avebury (below) is the largest stone circle in Britain.

3,000years ago, Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq, as well as parts of Iran, Syria, and Turkey)

There is evidence that the Assyrians living in the northern part of the area crafted rose quartz jewelry, which was worn to bring them beauty and love. The Chaldeans, based in southeastern Mesopotamia, were famous for their contributions to mathematics, science, the arts, literature, and governance. They were the first to formalize astronomy with strong links to astrology, and to make connections between planets and gems. This is possibly the first link to the concept of birthstones, where crystals and gems are connected to a time of the year, just as planets have been linked to the seasons and festivals throughout the year. (See also pages 44–49.)

2,300–1,400years ago, Greece

Crystals and minerals were used extensively in all walks of life in ancient Greece, from the spiritual (amethyst was worn as a sign of power and to protect the wearer from intoxication) to the mundane, including as building materials and decoration for both public buildings and private homes.

On Stones

The Greek philosopher Theophrastus (371–287 BCE) wrote Peri Lithon (meaning “On Stones”), which is the basis of today’s modern scientific classification of gemstones. He presented a taxonomy of known gems, their origins, physical properties, and magical and healing powers. Although much of this information is still accepted today by the scientific community, the magical and healing properties have been ignored despite having the same historic evidence.

The Parthenon is an ancient Greek temple in Athens, Rome.

1,600years ago, UK

Amethyst beads were placed in Anglo-Saxon graves across the UK, indicating a strong belief in an afterlife and the power of amethyst to help the soul on its journey.

1890s, India