Crystal: Smoky Quartz and Smoky Citrine

[holistichealer]

Smoky Quartz (shown in the photo above) and Smoky Citrine (shown in the photo below) can be used for the same basic purpose: removing heavy energy. But there is one major difference between the two: Smoky Citrine is more of a "filter", while Smoky Quartz is more of a "sponge". Smoky Citrine doesn't retain negative / heavy energy. Smoky Quartz does, so it must be cleaned energetically after each use.

In addition, Smoky Quartz can be found in darker, denser shades of brown than Smoky Citrine. This is significant because the darker the stone, the better it is at working with heavier (i.e., closer to the physical) energies. As a result, stones that have both lighter and darker tones are more versatile with regard to what they can be used for.

A word of caution when buying Smoky Quartz: If the stone is very dark- black or almost black and uniformly so, it's most likely irradiated artificially (natural radiation is what makes a Smoky, "smoky", over many, many years). This is commonly referred to as "shot" by people who buy and sell stones for their occupation. A "shot" Smoky is for all intents and purposes, useless for healing.

In my experience, the more a Smoky Quartz is used, the more color it loses over time. Once there is little color left, it is good to thank them for their service and bury them- returning them "home".

[holistichealer]

Smoky Citrene: Notice how it's much more transparent than Smoky Quartz. It typically approaches "optical quality" in clarity, which is rare for Smoky Quartz.

[sparklekaz]

Hi Holistic,

Lovely post and great pictures of these two beautiful crystals.

I myself have a large pointed smokey quartz crystal. I bought it many years ago in a great little shop in Glastonbury. I found the information about the way in which these two crystals deal with negative energy very interesting. It has also reminded me that I do not cleanse my smokey quartz, often enough.

Thank you for sharing.

Love and light
Kaz

[holistichealer]

Hi, Kaz.

Thanks. An interesting happened a few years back, regarding some Smokies I had. I had them for several years and used them many times. As a result, they lost most of their color. Originally, they were not quite as dark as the larger ones in the picture above (the ones in the picture are about 4 inches long). But over time, they faded out to almost colorless. So it was time to retire them.

Just before I retired the previous ones, I came upon the ones in the picture in a metaphysical store. They are shaped almost exactly like the ones I retired and about 1/2 inch longer. And their color, while noticeably darker than the previous ones when I first got them, is graduated to a much lighter intensity near the points.

This experience began the first of several that followed, in which I found stones that were meant to stay together and work as a team. (I'll post pictures of others later in a different thread.)

On the subject of losing color: In my experience, Smoky Quartz, like Amethyst, fade when left in direct sunlight. I keep all of the "working stones" I have in individual violet pouches made of cotton (natural fibers), and therefore, out of the light. Also, the Violet does a good job of isolating them from external energy once they are cleaned.

As to cleaning, one of the best ways is to rinse them off in a stream, creek or river of rapidly- running water, holding them at the surface so that the water rushes over the surface of the stone. In lieu of that, you can put water from a stream into a glass or earthenware bowl and "swish" the stones vigorously as you hold them just under the surface of the water. The negative ions of the water negate the electrical charge that the stones retain as a result of the work done with them. (Marcel Vogel researched this and confirmed it back in the 1970's and 1980's.) Salt water is NOT recommended, because the salt leaves a residue that can dull the surface of the stone and crystalize when it dries inside crevices and fractures in the stone- causing them to "split" more.

Smoky Quartz is such a magnet for dense energy that even if it's not being used for healing and is just on display, it will accumulate dirty energy and need cleaning. It's definitely recommended to clean them after every use.

To deep- clean stones, the best way is to bury them for 28 days. But be careful when doing so, because they have a tendency to move- literally. Sometimes, they can't be found after being buried. So, when I bury them, I put an earthenware pot (like a flower pot) in the ground, then fill it with dirt from the same hole, and bury the crystals in that.