Properties of White Quartz

Many proponents of alternative medicine believe that quartz, the second-most-common mineral on earth, has metaphysical and healing properties. Quartz comes in a number of different colored varieties, such as citrine quartz (yellow/orange), rose quartz (pink), amethyst (purple), smoky quartz (gray), and milky quartz, which appears as cloudy white. The different varieties of quartz are associated with different metaphysical properties, and all quartz rocks share some common physical properties.

Physical Properties of White Quartz

• White quartz shares a number of physical properties with the other varieties of. All quartz has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale and appears in a number of shapes aside from the simple crystal shape (called macrocrystalline quartz), often forming structures that are pyramidal, prismatic, barnacled, clustered, microcrystalline, fibrous or banded. Milky quartz appears as whitish quartz that can range from translucent to opaque in color. The white color of milky quartz results from microscopic bubbles of liquid and gas trapped within the crystal's structure.

Chemical Properties of White Quartz

• Quartz is a compound of silica and oxygen bound in a crystal formation. On a microscopic level, quartz crystals consist of silica tetrahedrons bound into helices. The crystal's structure has trigonal symmetry. Quartz also has pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties, meaning that when a quartz crystal is compressed or heated, slight electrical charges form naturally at the ends of the crystal, which creates an electrical potential. White quartz has no chemical properties that differ from the other varieties of quartz.

Metaphysical Properties of White Quartz

• White quartz is often used in metaphysical and spiritual applications. Clearer stones of white quartz have a more masculine and projective energy, while the more opaque stones have a more feminine, receptive energy. The most opaque white quartz stones are sometimes referred to as "snow quartz." Practitioners of crystal healing say white quartz has the ability to receive, store, and transmit many types of spiritual energy, and it is often used as a meditation aid for this reason. It has a reputaiton for the ability to activate the Crown Chakra, promoting concentration, clarity of mind and focus. White quartz my also help stimulate the healthy function of the pineal and pituitary glands.

Mythical and Symbolic Properties of White Quartz

• Ancient scholars such as Pliny the Elder saw white quartz as a form of ice created by the gods to remain permanently frozen. Practitioners of Magick often refer to white quartz as "Frozen Light" or "Ice of Eternity," and practitioners use it frequently during sessions that require psychic clarity --- for example, during tarot card readings. White quartz is also associated with the archangel Rafael.