Needless to say, much of what is referred to as ‘magical energy’ often depends on what lies beneath our feet and some geological formations are better suited for magical or creative working than others; an idea mooted by Dion Fortune in her novel, The Goat-Foot God. There are, of course, many different types of rock that make up the Earth’s surface and each of them will have certain positive or negative magical-creative properties. Like all things magical, however, the Old Craft witch knows that nothing is as simple or precise as it seems. Just as the outcome in all magical and psychic exercises depend on the personal chemistry of the individual, so the blend of individuality, ability and Earth energies can combine to produce the most extraordinary results. And some things work better than others …
It is, for example, the quartz element of granite that reconnects us with the spirit of the landscape. As an accomplished Old Craft witch and having a doctorate in geology, Meriem Clay-Egerton was fascinated by the fact that for millennia humanity and quartz had interacted with each other. She wrote that our ancestors recognizing the qualities of quartz was evident from the studies of its usage, not region by region, but over the entire area of the British Isles: “Everywhere one looks there are clear distinct traces. To people who know its potential it was clearly no accidental employment of any material to hand. It was sought out for use. Why?”
She went on to explain at some length that quartz was used prolifically at prehistoric burials sites and that there was an esoteric school of thought that the quartz enabled the living to contact spirit entities “when they were in a correctly attuned state”. Standing stones (some of which are made of quartz, other may contain a high percentage of it) are accepted by magical practitioners as being able to act as conductors of ‘earth-force’, such as that encountered at nodal points for energy lines. “A quartz stone, or stones with high quartz content, will often appear in such a prominent position.”
Once we understand that quartz is very abundant in slate, it is not difficult to see why this particular material generates so much earth-energy. Magical and psychic working on slate packs a very distinctive punch, especially if the slate layers are close to the surface. Chalk, on the other hand, generates its own particular kind of energy, which is why our ancestors built their most prestigious monuments on chalkland. By contrast if we try walking through very heavy clay, it immediately becomes obvious why earth-energy is often ‘blocked’ or sluggish. Magical working on clay involves a lot of magical generating techniques by the practitioner, and unless there is a considerable amount of experience to draw on, things may take a long time to come to fruition. And despite all the wealth of crystals in the world, for the Old Craft witch, natural quartz should remain the most precious of all, since a quartz pendulum used for dowsing draws on an ancient knowledge for unlocking psychic power and seeking out information not easily obtained by any other means – especially contacting spirits of the landscape.
Melusine Draco 