INSIDE: Crystals are perhaps the most popular token of New Age lifestyles and practices, but they’re nothing new in ancient healing systems. Native American gemstones display the deep histories of crystals and spiritual healing in indigenous communities. Read on to learn about some of their most powerful stones…
Considering the fascination we now have with crystals and their healing potential, it’s amazing (and disappointing) to think about how often societies who have deep relationships with stones have come under attack by colonizers and explorers for their “barbaric” and “uneducated” practices.
In the late-nineteenth century, though more brutal fronts had been made for centuries before, the “Code of Indian Offenses” threatened the traditional role of medicine men and women in indigenous societies. Banned from using healing devices, like crystals, these healers could face prison time or worse.
These codes stayed in full effect for nearly 50 years, and only in 1978 did the United States Federal Government under President Jimmy Carter admit to and reverse the abuse on religious and spiritual practice for indigenous peoples. He enshrined the protection of their sacred practices in the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.
In recent years, the treatment methods and practices so central to indigenous life for centuries have been acknowledged as complementary and alternative medicines necessary for a holistic approach to health and wellbeing.
The rich history of Native American gemstones in traditional, ceremonial use contains a multitude of perspectives from over 2,000 distinct tribes of indigenous people in North America alone.
While we cannot cover all of the meanings and applications of crystals in Native American healing practices, we want to bring awareness to this crucial diversity and give a glimpse into the broad scope of sacred crystal connections.
The Importance of Healing Stones in Native American Culture
Native American gemstones have critical use as tools and totems for healing individuals and harmonizing indigenous communities. Health in indigenous cultures reflects spiritual vitality and continual work to strengthen it and keep the physical body in sync with nature.
Healing Stones for Personal Treatment
Thinking about health as a balance with the natural world, many indigenous people believe that illness and harm comes when a person loses touch and harmony with Earth.
Disharmony comes through a person’s thoughts and actions. A person with negative habits or bad thoughts and emotions invites the consequences that come from an imbalance with nature’s perfect, positive gifts.
In these natural healing traditions, a person can seek treatment from a medicine man or woman. Medicine men and women administered treatment in indigenous communities through alternative healing methods that used objects like crystals and sacred symbols.
As we’ve mentioned before, crystal connections are very subtle and unique for each person. Indigenous healing traditions demonstrate this connection in individual healing treatments.
Healing through sacred objects like crystals and other spiritual rituals is held very personal and private between the healer and the patient. The patient’s preferences reign supreme as to how to approach and incorporate different practices into treatment.
The medicine person respects and listens to the vibrations of the individual before moving forward in healing with certain crystals or other talismans.
Healing Stones for Communal Peace
The illness of an individual has significant impact on the tight-knit community of a tribe. So, medicine men and women also address the healing of the community.
They help the community to understand how the disharmony of one puts the entire community out of balance with nature. The negative energy that afflicts an individual can reverberate out to the group. The community itself may also suffer collectively because of communal choices and actions, not necessarily because of a single sick individual.
With the aid of Native American gemstones, potent symbols, and herbs like sage or palo santo, traditional indigenous healers officiate over rituals and ceremonies that cleanse the lingering energy of illness and weakness to revitalize the community and restore it in harmony with nature.
How Native Americans Used Crystals & Stones
The incredible skills that indigenous communities developed to work with healing stones and crystals testifies to the advanced methods present in Native American tribes for centuries.
The ability to grind smooth crystals, carve stone details, and stitch intricate patterns came from enduring lineages of practice. In turn, these skills brought many uses for Native American healing stones in their culture.
Connection With Spirit Guides
Native American gemstones make tangible the connection of humans with spirit guides. Certain stones are understood to evoke spirits and invite them into human…
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