Spiritual and Healing Properties of Smoky Quartz

Smoky quartz is a member of the common quartz family which is silicon dioxide and gets its gray color from irradiation, by natural or artificial means, and aluminum traces. The color is more of a transparent gray often with specks of darker gray or black throughout, sometimes even mixed with citrine, which is a yellow stone. Smoky quartz that is dark gray to black is also known as Morion, especially outside of the United States.

This stone is commonly known as a grounding crystal which is explained further below. But it has other properties including providing protection from negativity and acting as a barrier around the person carrying or wearing it. This can be in the physical realm or on journeys to otherworldly realms during meditation and trance. It helps bring calm to emotional situations. It also helps dissolve negative energies whether they stem from the user or from an outside source.

Katrina Raphaell, founder of The Crystal Academy of Advanced Healing Arts, states in her book Crystal Enlightenment: The Transforming Properties of Crystals and Healing Stones (Crystal Trilogy, Vol. 1) that working with smoky quartz would be helpful for people with depression and those who set high goals for themselves but never seem to be able to follow through. She says it allows people to come to terms with their own reality in a loving way.

In everything that I've read and personally experienced with smoky quartz, this is an incredibly gentle stone. It doesn't hit you between the eyeballs with what you need to do but allows you to peel away layer by layer of whatever emotional or spiritual blockages that are keeping you from realizing your path. Physically, it has been reported to help with problems of the hands and feet as well as regulate minerals in the body.

As mentioned, the irradiation process can be done artificially and often is. This should be clearly marked by the person you buy the stone from but you may not always have the luxury of the truth or the seller may not even know. You should clean every stone you buy no matter which one it is, but because this artificial process is traumatic to the smoky quartz, it's especially important you clean these crystals before use. An easy way to do this is by placing them in sea salt for one to three days to draw out energetic impurities.

Smoky quartz helps you gain a sense of groundedness, but unlike other grounding stones, it still allows the user to have spiritual insight. Sometimes when we first step onto a spiritual journey, we have a tendency to dismiss the physical realm as if it's not important. If we let ourselves become too heady, we end up ungrounded and not being able to tend to our own survival in the mundane world by holding down a job and managing finances. Not being grounded also adversely affects relationships. When things get past the initial romance stage, we need to stay grounded in reality if we want the relationship to last.

In her book, Crystal Wisdom: Spiritual Properties of Crystals and Gemstones, author Dolfyn shares her vision of the intrinsic qualities of smoky quartz as if the stone is speaking:

"I am the beauty of practical things
While stirring the oatmeal, the spirit still sings.

While tilling the soil, the heart can still love;
For as is below, so is above.

When you make the mundane a deep meditation,
The daily routine becomes spirit's elation."

I don't see smoky quartz as one of what I call the deep grounding stones like hematite or black obsidian. But it has what is a gentle grounding quality. If you want a grounding stone to help you through a trauma that has shaken you to the bone, then this might not be the one for you. However, smoky quartz is a good stone to use if you're experiencing flightiness and unclear thinking.

Grounding corresponds to the root chakra based on Eastern spirituality. This is an energy center located in and just above the groin area. One way to use smoky quartz for grounding is to place a stone on this area or near your feet while meditating. You can also carry a stone in your pocket or wear jewelry, especially to places you feel you might feel less grounded throughout the day. For more tips on techniques, visit my article Grounding and Centering Techniques: A Foundation of Magical and Spiritual Practice.

Sources consulted:
Akhavan, A.C. Smoky Quartz. The Quartz Page, 2005-2010.
Dolfyn. Crystal Wisdom: Spiritual Properties of Crystals and Gemstones. Earth Spirit, Inc. 1989.
Melody. Love is in the Earth: A Kaleidoscope of Crystals. Earth-Love Publishing House, 1995.

Photo credits: Photos are from Wikimedia Commons and listed as public domain.