Did you know that April has more than one birthstone?
A lot of people associate April with Diamonds, since that’s one of the most popular birthstones. However, like a lot of months, there are actually two different birthstones for April, and the alternate stone is crystal Quartz!
There are a lot of reasons for choosing Quartz as April’s birthstone. For one thing, like Diamond, Quartz is a clear stone, and one that can remind some people of rain. After all, April showers make May flowers, right?
April, for better or worse, is associated with rain showers and classically Spring weather throughout a lot of the Northern Hemisphere and the clear or even slightly smoky color of pure Quartz is the perfect stone for that.
But there’s a lot more to this stone than meets the eye. I’ve already talked a little about Quartz in earlier blogs, including the fun fact that Quartz is the most common mineral on the Earth, and makes up a total of 12% of the Earth’s mass.
This year I want to take a slightly closer look at Quartz, and everything that makes April’s birthstone, and the natural stone jewelry made with it, special!
Crystal Quartz, One Of The Most Common And Most Unique Natural Stones
You probably already know that Quartz is so common that most minerals and stones have at least a small amount of Quartz in their chemical compositions.
That can lead a lot of people to think that Quartz isn’t that special, when the truth is that this is one of the most important natural stones out there - at least when it comes to jewelry and appreciating natural beauty.
Why is Quartz so important?
Well, one good reason is that a lot of your other favorite stones are probably different varieties of Quartz. Amethyst, Citrine, Jasper, Carnelian, and Aventurine are all different types of Quartz.
The different colors of those brilliant stones all come from different kinds of inclusions in the Quartz. Different minerals create different colors, and the concentration of those minerals determine how brightly colored the resulting stone will be.
Why do we call these stones different names despite them being mostly the same mineral?
There are a few reasons different types of Quartz have gotten different names over the years. For one thing, before we had the tools and technology to evaluate the chemical composition of a stone, there was no way to know that different stones had the same composition. There’s also plenty of precedence for naming stones based on their appearance.
Rubies are another great example of naming a stone based on appearance instead of composition. Rubies and Sapphires are actually the same stone - we just call red Sapphires Rubies instead.
Humans have been fascinated with all of these stones for as long as we’ve been human. There is a part of us that seeks natural beauty in all things, from the sky overhead to the leaves on trees, flowers in the grass, and even the stones under our feet.
Quartz is a special case though, because its beauty is no less remarkable for being relatively common.
We’ve always been fascinated by this stone. Here are just a few of the ideas that have circulated about Quartz through time:
Romans Thought Clear Quartz Was A Type Of Ice
To demonstrate the long history of Clear Crystal Quartz, one of the first ideas about this incredible natural stone was that it was some kind of permanent ice.
Yes, you read that right.
Romans thought that Quartz was a permanently solid form of water.
Of course, especially when the particularly clear forms of Quartz are used in natural stone jewelry, I can’t blame them. This stone does look a bit like perfectly clear ice, and the cracked versions of the stone look even more like frozen water.
Both my April Birthstone Stacked Quartz earrings and Quartz on Silver necklace really show off this icy quality to the stone.
Many Different Cultures Thought Quartz Could Help Them Divine The Future
Throughout time, Quartz and other crystals have been used as a tool for divining the future. There are a lot of different ways that Quartz and these stones have been used, from tossing stones on a piece of fabric and interpreting where they landed to simply gazing into the stone directly.
Quartz in particular has long been cut and polished into crystal balls, and as recently at Victorian era England, people thought that gazing into these balls could unveil the future.
Modern metaphysical practitioners still stand by Quartz as a powerful stone for improving your intuition and making it easier to see truth.
Quartz Is Thought To Be A ‘Universal’ Metaphysical Stone
Divining the future isn’t the only metaphysical use for Quartz. In fact, clear crystal Quartz is thought to be one of the most powerful and most universal stones you can use in your practice.
It’s particularly useful for dispelling negativity, helping to focus your energy and intent, and for spiritual healing. Though, as always, I’d like to note that crystals should not be used as a replacement for modern medicine or medical care from qualified physicians.
Quartz can also be used to synergize and heighten almost any magical practice, so it can be a useful tool for almost any ritual or spell.
Quartz Was Often Used In Protective Talismans
Did you know that some of the original Quartz jewelry is thought to have been protective talismans for the wearer. Ancient Egyptians, among many other cultures, used Quartz in jewelry as a form of warding and protection.
Clear Quartz Is Thought To Help Connect All Chakra
One of the other common uses for clear crystal Quartz is to help connect all your chakra, which is important for each chakra to function properly, and to make sure you’re not getting out of balance with too much influence from one chakra, and too little from another.
That makes crystal quartz and crystal quartz jewelry a powerful tool for your chakra practice.
One Of The Nicknames For Clear Quartz Is ‘The Lightbringer’
When used in energy practice, one of the nicknames for this important stone is the Lightbringer. Why? Because Quartz is thought to invite positive light energies, while blocking or dispelling more negative energies.
Of course, it might also be because the stone catches the light and can sometimes even seem to glow as light bounces around inside the crystalline structure of natural Quartz.
Want Some April Birthstone Jewelry Of Your Own?
Interested by all the history and the many properties of crystal Quartz? I have some good news for you, it’s easy to get your own natural stone Quartz jewelry. In fact, I have a collection dedicated to this very stone, and you might also see some natural crystal Quartz used in some of my other jewelry as well!
As always, my April Birthstone jewelry is hypoallergenic, nickel free, and made to order. So if you’re buying some birthstone jewelry for someone you love this month, be sure to give yourself enough time for the jewelry to be made and shipped.
Happy shopping!
