The use of Rose Quartz dates all the way back to 7000 B.C.E. in what was then Mesopotamia (current day Iraq). It is theorized that it was first used by the Assyrians and the Romans and the Assyrians first crafted with it around 800-600 B.C.E. As you may already know from newsletters past, the Ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans all believed that quartz and varieties of quartz all had magical powers. The fact that they carved these beautiful stones into talismans they believed held unspeakable power is well known. The Romans used rose quartz as a seal to signify ownership or that a deal had been struck and the Egyptians believed it could prevent aging. Since the Middle Ages, practitioners of medicine have used rose quartz, because if its healing powers, in their potions. It has been known as “the Love Stone” since then and they believed it helped balance the emotions, prevent you from being angry and/or disappointed.
As with many crystals, there are usually a few different legends, myths, or lore associated with them and how they were created. According to one Greek legend, Aphrodite’s lover, Adonis, was attacked by Ares who had taken on the shape of a wild boar at the time. Fearing for her lover’s life, Aphrodite ran to his aid. While doing so, she pricked herself on a briar bush and began to bleed. Her blood mixed with Adonis’s blood and stained the quartz talismans they were wearing pink and thus, rose quartz is borne. Zeus took pity on them and their undying love for one another and decided to bring Adonis back to life for 6 months of every year. From then on the white quartz that had been stained with their blood and became rose quartz would now be a symbol of renewed love.
Cupid and Eros in another Greek tale brought rose quartz to Earth in the hopes it would spark love and lust in the mortal humans. According to Egyptian legend, Isis regularly used rose quartz to maintain her youth and divine beauty. Masks have been found made of rose quartz in some tombs of ancient Egypt. For this reason it is believed that they, the Egyptians, believed the rose quartz helped keep clear complexions and prevent or get rid of wrinkles. Rose quartz has been used as a token of love and affection by Tibetan and Chinese cultures as early as 600 B.C.E.
The etymology of the name rose is simple enough and can be traced to the Latin rosa which simply translated means “pink”. This stone is considered an igneous rock (igneous literally meaning “from fire”) and forms as cooling magma gets pushed towards the surface. It gets its pink color from the presence of titanium and is the official mineral of South Dakota. You can find rose quartz in the United States, Brazil, Madagascar, Namibia, and South Africa. Many pieces of rose quartz have a property known as an asterism (“star quality). This is due to microscopic rutile in the crystal that create the effect of what appears to be a star. This usually can only be seen if the specimen has been cut and polished.
Metaphysical Uses
As you may already know (or guessed) Rose Quartz is known as the “Stone of Love”. It is the number one crystal exchanged amongst lovers, family members, and any other relationship where love is the sturdy base on which it was built. It is historically the most readily associated with the Heart Chakra and for that reason is used for literally and figuratively anything to do with the heart: love, emotions, friendships, relationships, marriages, partnerships, depression, angst, past traumas, heart conditions, etc., etc. If you want to increase the love in your life, are searching for that special someone, and/or have medical conditions associated with the heart, this is the stone for you! Rose quartz gives off a loving and happy energy and can facilitate improvements with one’s emotional health. This crystal has the ability to identify the best qualities in a person as well as the worst. Rose Quartz also has a nurturing energy and can be especially helpful to those who may have grown up without a mother by helping you nurture yourself and accept that missing part of the most sensitive time of your life. It can also be used to strengthen the bond of a mother to her growing child during pregnancy and after birth.
As stated previously, Rose Quartz is associated with the Heart (4th) Chakra so it can benefit anything to do with one’s heart. It helps one realize they are worthy of love, how to open up to the possibilities of love, and experience joy, happiness, and inner peace. It holds a soft, feminine energy that emits compassion, peace, nourishment, tenderness, comfort, and healing. Many rock wranglers turn to rose quartz in times where they need healing after loss of a loved one or emotional heartache. Others use it to help strengthen existing relationships while promoting unconditional love. Many have said that it helps to open up the heart to more love and teach those that have a difficult time expressing their emotions, how to do so.
While rose quartz is not the first stone I would suggest for relieving stress and anxiety, it can help calm one down and help a person get passed those stressors and anxieties associated with passed emotional traumas. In that process it will help you to learn how to trust yourself and trust in your self worth which will in turn boost your self-confidence. This is a crucial step in learning how to love yourself as well as learning that you are worthy of someone else’s (the right person’s) love.
Rose quartz is also a great example of a crystal that will bring smooth harmony to one’s family. If you have issues within your family where the individuals just don’t know how to talk to one another or get along, rose quartz will help put at ease those family members; and where once there was strife, turmoil, and unrest, there will be peace, calm, ease, and of course, love. And just as it is a good shoulder to lean on after a loss, rose quartz is also good to bring to the bedside of a loved one who is ready to pass on. It helps ease the transition during which the soul is trying to leave the body by surrounding it with unconditional love.
Rose quartz is one of those stones where I feel there's never enough that can be said about it. It does so much and helps people in so many ways that the list is ever growing. I am writing this little disclaimer because I know that I have probably missed something, some meaning or metaphysical use that one of you may use it for regularly; so for that I am sorry. But feel free to come on in and let me know how rose quartz has helped change your life. While you are here if you'd like to pick up some more rose quartz or if you've never bought it before, show me this email and receive 15% off your purchase.
