Charmstone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A charmstone is a mineral specimen believed to have healing, mystical or paranormal powers or energy. The mineral specimen may either be naturally occurring or honed from a natural stone; in some cases, the specimen may be entirely manufactured as in the case of certain Mayan pottery finds. For example, the Miwok and Pomo tribes of Northern California have left thousands of charmstones in the bed of Tolay Lake in Sonoma County.[1] Charmstones are evidenced by the Shalagram and lingam in the Hindu tradition and by maban in the indigenous Australian tradition. Jigme Lingpa in the Vajrayana tradition wrote a treatise on charmstone usage which Namkhai Norbu mentions. Charmstones were used in prehistoric Native American cermonies for broad spiritual purposes including securing of productive harvests.[2] Today charmstones are popular among certain countercultures within Western society such as the New Age movement, particularly in the form of crystal healing. Belief in the powers of charmstones is criticized as baseless by scientists and medical professionals and there is no known scientific basis for such a belief.[3]
[edit] References
- A Charmstone Discovery in the Redwood Forests of Mendocino County, California by: Susan M. Hector, Daniel G. Foster, Linda C. Pollack Gerrit L. Fenenga, and J. Charles Whatford of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection , Archaeology Office. November 30, 2005
- Campbell, Dan, Edgar Cayce, on the Power of Color, Stones, and Crystals, Warner Books Edition, New York, NY, 1989.
- Helwig, David, Crystal Healing in Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, 2006 [1]
