Hello flower of the day!
Today is a very special day for me and I am delighted that you are here to accompany me on this journey. Living in another country can sometimes create a bit of anxiety, but thanks to your everyday kindness this step becomes easier and easier. Gratitude is the word.
Let's get to know: Anne, Brazilian, 28 years old, designer of La Boboá. Condemned feminist, lover of crystals, passionate about alternative medicine and little witch in my free time. And you, what's your name? I really like knowing who is here with me, so feel free to comment below a little bit about yourself, your story, what you like, your hobbies, passions, etc. (if you want, of course).
To start our blog, I chose a theme that I think will be of interest to all of you: the origins of Lithotherapy!
So... many talk about the energetic power of stones, but few know how this practice began, how Lithotherapy was created and by whom. Today I will make a small introduction of this subject. Let's go !
Let's start simple:
What is this thing, Lithotherapy?
Lithotherapy is a treatment, an unconventional medicine, which consists of healing our emotional and physical wounds and improving our well-being through the vibrations of crystals and minerals. This improvement comes with a rebalancing and harmonization of our Chakras, which we will talk about another day.
The origins of Lithotherapy:
The first civilizations and the cult of the Stone
It's amazing when you realize that human beings have (almost) always made use of the metaphysical effects of stones. From the cavemen, the first humans already carried stones in amulets to protect them. Even without any knowledge, they already recognized that, in life, there are forces which the eye cannot see, but which one can feel. These are feelings - of attunement and energy - and that's exactly what I find magical in the energy world: we work on our intuition, we learn to listen to our inner voice.
Later, among primitive peoples such as Australian Aborigines and Native Americans, crystals played an important role in their religious practices. Among the Incas, the Aztecs and the Mayas, for example, there are several stone sculptures of gods, as well as amulets and jewellery.
In China, India and ancient Greece, several temples and statues were built with precious stones, and the manufacture of jewelry with gems was highly valued. It is at this time that we begin to use crystals for their physical and psychological virtues.
Lithotherapy was far from being as developed as today, but these civilizations had already noticed that minerals had a certain power to connect them with their spiritualities. The stones have gradually thus naturally become a symbol of the divine.
In Ancient Egypt, a very mystical civilization, healers wore many precious stones everywhere in their bodies and in their hands in order to draw strength and power from them to transmit it to the sick in order to heal them. They were the first to organize the stones by a system of symbolism of colors and placement on the body, founding techniques of modern Lithotherapy. Deep blue, for example, brought strength, and yellow, the color of the sun, was considered effective for disorders of the nervous system .
In the Vedas , the sacred texts of Hinduism, crystals are mentioned for their healing properties. In Greek (where the word Crystal comes from, from the Greek 'krustullos', which means 'ice') and Roman Culture , soldiers rubbed crushed Hematite on their bodies before combat to protect themselves against enemy blows. Besides protecting, they believed that crystals and minerals could also improve their health and bring them good faith.
Healing crystals in the Middle Ages
The collapse of the Roman Empire caused a terrible loss of knowledge around Lithotherapy. Poor translations and fragmented works of vanished civilizations have given way to clumsy interpretations.
At the same time, however, the most advanced medicine of the time was the Arab, and it was they who advanced the knowledge of crystals. They have indeed studied the stones, their symbolisms and their properties based on Egyptian traditions, while attributing healing properties to the stones. At the same time, Chinese medicine used Jade stone powder quite a bit for its healing properties - but they were a bit clunky with how the healing process worked.
It was not until the 16th century - after the Dark Ages - and during the Renaissance that knowledge around lithotherapy began to develop in Europe. Little by little Arab knowledge on the virtues of stones arrives and sheds new light on the subject in the West.
From this moment, lithotherapy in Europe has great advances until finally becoming a branch of medicine. Thanks to Nicolas Lemery, doctor to Louis XIV and precursor of pharmacy, the virtues of the stones are once again dissipated with his encyclopedia of drugs of 1748. In it, he cites several uses and virtues of more than fifty stones and minerals, which remained in use until 1914 in pharmacies in France.
While traditional medicine was developing, however, stone medicine (at the time it was not called lithotherapy) gradually lost its value in society, either because of the interests of a growing pharmaceutical industry quickly with science and which begins to take the place of all medicinal forms. As a result, knowledge from thousands of years is discredited in the Western world, as well as all other non-conventional forms of medicine (and until today the same system is still in place, these forms of medicine do not are not accepted by a large part of the Western population, but that is a subject for another post hehe).
Let's continue with the story... It was in the 18th century that Abbé René Just Hauÿ discovered the 7 crystalline systems and founded crystallography. René had a huge collection of minerals, which are now on display at the Museum of Natural History in Paris. At this time, the crystals are used in the form of elixir and powder, and therefore scientific research on the structure of mineral species is essential.
It was during the 20th century that the term “lithotherapy” (finally!) appeared for the first time. American clairvoyant Edgar Cayce, a well-known personality at the time, used crystals for their therapeutic powers and recommended stones as a form of meditation aid and protection. Cayce advocated, through his readings, the use of various semi-precious stones, namely Opal, Ruby and Lapis, as well as several base minerals and metals. Lapis in particular has received much attention from those who study Cayce. It was through him that stone medicine was rediscovered and the healing power of stones came into play.
In the 1970s the New Age movement was born and, with it, interest in spiritual practices seems to be gaining ground in modern society to counterbalance the tensions of the time. This is where modern man rediscovers the virtues of crystals and minerals :)
Today lithotherapy continues to evolve and gain the interest of a wider audience. We have several forms, care and uses: stones that are discovered every day, jewelry (yes jewelry!), pocket stones, meditation stones, elixir, etc... well, plenty topics for our next posts!
Did you already know the history of Lithotherapy? Do not hesitate to comment your thoughts and your questions/suggestions for themes for our next meeting which will take place here next Wednesday!
I wish you a very beautiful day with lots of light.
Kisses,
Anna
