What is Lemurian Quartz?
Lemurian Quartz is a trade name originally associated with quartz crystals from Brazil that often, but not always, feature horizontal striations. This article explains what Lemurian Quartz crystals are, why the striations form, where the name comes from and why these crystals have become so expensive.
This article discusses Lemurian Quartz from a mineralogical and historical perspective. It does not address its purported crystal healing properties.
Lemurian Quartz: Quartz Crystals with Striations
Lemurian Quartz crystals are highly sought after for their metaphysical healing properties. They are believed to hold ancient spiritual knowledge linked to the mythical lost civilisation of Lemuria.
Horizontal striations are widely considered a key identifying feature of Lemurian Quartz. These ridges or grooves usually run across one or more of the crystal’s prism faces. However, the crystal trade also applies the name to specimens on which these markings are faint or entirely absent.
Striations are common growth features on the prism faces of quartz. They develop as layers spread across the crystal face during growth, sometimes at different rates. They are not unique to quartz sold as Lemurian.
Where Does Lemurian Quartz Come From?
The name Lemurian Quartz was originally associated with clear quartz crystals from the Serra do Cabral in Minas Gerais, Brazil, particularly around Joaquim Felício and Francisco Dumont.
Although many articles claim that Lemurian Quartz was discovered in the early 1990s, this is not supported by the available evidence. Mineral collector Rock Currier states that he, Ed Swoboda and Osorio Neto operated a small, hand-worked quartz mine at Fazenda Pé da Serra near Joaquim Felício in 1987.
The venture was operated partly in the hope of producing good hand-held quartz points for the growing crystal trade. Currier later recalled being surprised when customers in the United States called the crystals “Lemurian.”
This is the earliest dated firsthand account I have found connecting quartz from the locality with the Lemurian name. Currier did not say who invented the term or precisely when it first appeared.
Quartz had been mined around Joaquim Felício long before the Lemurian name came into use. Currier recorded that the nearby Seminário farm mine dated back to the Second World War.
During this war, quartz was needed to manufacture piezoelectric oscillator plates for radio equipment. Much of the quartz from the Seminário farm contained too many inclusions to be suitable for this purpose, so the mine was abandoned. The mine was later reopened to extract collectable crystals containing phantoms.
Quartz from Joaquim Felício and Francisco Dumont has also been described as “Lemurian Quartz” in mineral-collecting literature. However, the name has no recognised geological definition and does not appear in Brazil’s official profile of quartz production.
The name is used predominantly within crystal healing and other alternative medicine circles. Geologists do not recognise Lemurian Quartz as a separate mineral or variety and classify these crystals as quartz.
Tessin and Muzo-Habit Quartz
Some crystals sold as Lemurian Quartz have been compared with Tessin- or Muzo-habit quartz. However, these are specific crystallographic forms and cannot be identified simply by the presence of striations.
Tessin-habit quartz crystals are typically long and slender, with steep faces that produce a strongly tapered, sharply pointed shape. Lemurian Quartz crystals occur in many shapes and sizes. Unless a crystal exhibits the distinctive form, it cannot correctly be described as Tessin habit.
Muzo-habit quartz was originally described from Colombia. In these crystals, the prism faces narrow towards the termination, producing a tapered form that can sometimes resemble Tessin habit.
Some specimens sold as Lemurian may exhibit one of these recognised habits, but many are simply striated prismatic quartz.
Material sold as Lemurian Quartz also comes from Colombia and, in much smaller quantities, Peru. Colombia has documented deposits of tapered and striated quartz, including the recognised Muzo habit.
I could not find a geological publication confirming a distinct Peruvian source under the name “Lemurian Quartz.” This does not mean that material sold as Peruvian Lemurian Quartz does not exist, only that the description cannot be independently confirmed through the available geological literature.
Trigons and Record Keeper Crystals
The crystal trade often uses the term ‘trigon’ to describe tiny triangular markings on the faces of some quartz crystals. In gemmology, however, the term is most commonly associated with triangular etch features on diamonds.
Similar markings on quartz may be raised growth hillocks, which form as atoms are added to the crystal lattice during crystallisation. They may also be recessed etch pits, created when fluids dissolve part of the crystal’s surface.
The appearance of these triangular markings depends on how the crystal grew and what happened to its surface afterwards. They may be too small to see with the naked eye or partially hidden by other surface features.
In metaphysical circles, quartz crystals displaying triangular markings are often called ‘record keepers’. They are believed to store and release information that has been programmed into them.
The Mythical Continent of Lemuria
In later accounts, Lemuria became a mythical lost continent believed to have existed in the Pacific Ocean. It is claimed to have been destroyed by a cataclysmic event that caused the land to sink.
The people of Lemuria are said to have used crystals for healing and clairvoyance. It is believed they predicted what was to come and used crystals to store and preserve their knowledge and traditions.
The history of the continent of Lemuria began in 1864 with British lawyer and zoologist Philip Sclater. He was trying to explain why so many species of lemur thrived in Madagascar but were absent or rare elsewhere.
In an article published in a scientific journal, Sclater proposed that lemurs had spread through Madagascar, Africa and Asia by way of a lost landmass or land bridge.
He named this hypothetical landmass ‘Lemuria’ and suggested that it had once extended across part of the Indian Ocean before sinking or breaking apart. His proposal left Madagascar and parts of India as remnants.
In The Geography of Mammals, published with his son William Lutley Sclater in 1899, they wrote:
“This fact would seem to show that the ancient ‘Lemuria’, as the hypothetical continent which was originally the home of the Lemurs has been termed, must have extended across the Indian Ocean and the Indian Peninsula to the further side of the Bay of Bengal and over the great islands of the Indian Archipelago.”
In a book published in German in 1868, biologist Ernst Haeckel discussed how humans evolved from primates. He mentioned Africa and Asia and speculated about a lost landmass between the two continents.
When the book was translated into English in 1876, Haeckel described Lemuria as possibly being the cradle of humanity.
He went on to say:
“The probable primaeval home or ‘Paradise’ is here assumed to be Lemuria, a tropical continent at present lying below the level of the Indian Ocean, the former existence of which in the tertiary period seems very probable from numerous facts in animal and vegetable geography.
But it is also very possible that the hypothetical ‘cradle of the human race’ lay further to the east (in Hindostan or Further India) or further to the west (in eastern Africa).”
Books such as these sparked widespread fascination with lost continents and sunken lands. Later writers transformed Sclater’s scientific hypothesis into stories about an advanced civilisation, often relocating Lemuria from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific.
It is not known how quartz from South America became associated with Lemuria or who first created the name Lemurian Quartz.
The Commercial Value of the Lemurian Name
The name ‘Lemurian Seed Crystal’ is also widely used, although some claim that Seed Crystals differ slightly from regular Lemurian Quartz. There is no recognised geological standard that distinguishes one from the other.
In the original story surrounding Lemurian Seed Crystals, the horizontal striations were believed to carry knowledge about maintaining unity while retaining individuality. They were distinguished from the triangular markings known as record keepers, which were believed to contain specific information.
The Lemurian name has been heavily exploited commercially. Crystals sold under this name command considerably higher prices than comparable clear quartz crystals, despite having no recognised geological definition and no unique mineralogical property by which they can be authenticated as Lemurian.
Although striations are widely presented as a defining feature, there is no recognised standard establishing what a genuine Lemurian Quartz crystal must look like. These growth markings are common on quartz from many locations.
Some specimens sold as Lemurian have only one or two faint striations, while others have none at all. Where this is the case, there may be nothing visible that distinguishes them from other clear quartz crystals.
The problem is even more apparent with polished objects. In the past, we have bought Lemurian Quartz crystal balls that were considerably more expensive than regular clear quartz balls. Once quartz has been shaped and polished, its natural crystal faces and any striations have been removed.
Therefore, there is no way to establish that a polished crystal ball was made from quartz originally sold as Lemurian. Nor is there a recognised mineralogical test that can identify it as such. Its description depends entirely on what is known about the original rough material and where it was mined.
We have bought Lemurian Quartz from the same established supplier in Brazil for many years. We must rely on their assurance that the crystals come from localities traditionally associated with material sold under this name.
Without reliable provenance, there is no independent way to verify that a crystal or polished object came from one of these locations. Its commercial value therefore depends largely on the Lemurian name and the story attached to it rather than any unique mineralogical property.
Buyers should be cautious about paying inflated prices for specimens that may be indistinguishable from considerably less expensive quartz.
Article Photos
The Lemurian Quartz crystals are from our collection.
Second photo: Serra do Cabral State Park, Minas Gerais. Photo: Lucas.cvo - Wikimedia Commons
The close-up photograph shows a quartz crystal with triangular growth markings.
Pop-up photo: The pyrite with striations is courtesy of Stan Celestian. The link leads to the original photograph on Flickr. You may only be able to view it if you join. Joining Flickr is free, and there are no additional charges.
The first photograph at the top of our article is clickable and links to the original image, also on Flickr.
