Light of the night, the night goddess, Selene, pours liquid light upon our lives.
Is it absurd? Is it quite plain?
In the 1978 adaptation of Superman in which Christopher Reeve plays the main role, Superman visits a fortress of solitude that appears to be constructed from ice, glass and crystal. He accesses information by placing crystal shards or wands into reciprocals that plays back holographic images and allows communication between himself and the system. Reminiscent of a Kryptonian voice activated smart assistant.
Think a crystalline operated Alexa with results presented in holographic form and you are some way to imagining the scene. I was reminded of this when first handling a selenite wand as I was cataloguing it as they resemble the memory crystals in those early Superman movies. What kind of information have been imprinted on these crystals and what knowledge would they allow me to access?
Without my own gargantuan fortress of solitude or even as little as a 100 foot high holographic crystal player in my bedroom it seemed as though I would never be able to find that out. Seemingly the stuff of futuristic dreams and an alien concept of technology that crystals could store data like, at the time, VHS cassettes and floppy discs do.
Science has had other ideas since those movies were produced, however, and according to this article it is currently possible to use a crystal to store 360 terabytes (average smartphone capacity as time of writing is between 32 – 64 gigabytes.
The excellent infographic found by scrolling down the page of this article helps put memory sizes into perspective) of information and can withstand temperatures of up to 1000°C all while retaining the information indefinitely. Life imitating art or the other way round?
The name, selenite, owed to the moon
Also known as liquid light, the name, Selenite, comes from the Greek goddess of the moon, Selene. Daughter of Titan Hyperions and sister to Helios (the Sun). Selene rides her chariot across the sky at night which is represented in The Hymn To Selene. This poem is taken from the ancient Greek book Homeric Hymns:
The air, unlit before, glows with the light of her golden crown, and her rays beam clear, whensoever bright Selene having bathed her lovely body in the waters of Ocean, and donned her far-gleaming raiment, and yoked her strong-necked, shining team, drives on her long-maned horses at full speed, at eventime in the mid-month: then her great orbit is full and then her beams shine brightest as she increases. So she is a sure token and a sign to mortal men.
55 tonnes of solid selenite found under dog. That takes the gyp(sum)
Selenite is one of the varieties of the mineral gypsum. The others pertaining to this particular family are known as satin spar, desert rose and gypsum flower. The latter three of these are commonly grouped together and simply referred to as Selenite. Containing absolutely no selenium. This is thought to be simply because of the similarity and the connection by the ancient Greeks and their naming of the lunar celestial body, the moon. Composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate.
A dihydrate being a solid substance that at the molecular level contains two molecules of water to every molecules unit cell. Selenite as a crystallised variety of the soft mineral gypsum can be found in the largest single quantities of any crystal yet mined or discovered. The largest found thus far in the Naica ‘crystal caves’ mines in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.
Unlike the yappy little handbag fashion accessory dogs that share the name, buried deep under the ground in the mines of Chihuahua, selenite crystals were found that were 12 metres in length and weighing in at a staggering 55 tonnes!
The selenite that is in the online shop aren’t quite that gigantic averaging at 30 centimetres they are about the same size as a shatter resistant ruler. Much to the relief of the postal service.
A wand, a bar, of Satin Spar
The selenite we have (at the time of writing and used for all of the images in this article) are of the long wand like variety referred to as satin spar. They have long crystal lines running along the length and have a cloudy but brilliant white colour to them. They feel light in the hand. They appear as if they should be heavy and hard like glass but they are not.
There is also a softness to their texture. These stones are brittle and soft due to the water present in their structure. It has been known that they can be bent and remain formed. I didn’t attempt this when holding one of these wands in my hand as even though it does have a sort of plasticity about it’s feel the long shards made me feel it would shatter if bent. Because of the water content it has been used as an additive in cement, plaster and plaster-boards and also as a soil conditioner.
Light is visible and shines through them and if back-lit lights up not unlike a fluorescent tube. We had a lot of fun when playing with them with led light strips for use on our social media channels. These would look great sat in a window catching the setting sun or purposely back-lit to create a display for these opaque beauties. Selenite has a measure of hardness scale of two.
This reinforces the need to be gentle with these stones. They are rigid and for the energetic healing uses that are described later in this article will be absolutely fine. They are not recommended for to jack up cars with, knock nails into wood with or for doing pull ups in a door way with.
Watch out! Waters about
A word of caution before we start to look at some of the emotional, spiritual, metaphysical and energetic healing uses of selenite. When receiving new crystals from any supplier it is always good practice to cleanse your crystals. In our frequently asked questions it is stated that a crystal can be cleared or cleansed using salt water overnight to remove negative energies that may have been absorbed on passage to you to present you with a blank canvas for energy work.
Please do not attempt this with selenite as they are water soluble and even if they do not dissolve completely will certainly spoil, discolour or become damaged. To cleanse these crystals for starting to use with channelling energies and to charge with intention it is best to use a method called ‘smudging‘ where dried white sage smoke is passed over the crystals to clear all past stored energies. Please be careful with these crystals around water as they will spoil if exposed or submerged for any considerable length of time.
With all the precautionary warnings out of the way, let’s now look at how selenite can be used for energetic crystal healing. It is my hope that none of the above has put you off from exploring this powerful stone because it really is an incredibly useful tool for the healer and light worker. It is such a versatile tool with a wide variety of uses that it can find a home in any energetic workers collection. Please try, however, to refrain from building a boat from it.
Thank you for remaining on a spirit level
Selenite aligns with the crown chakra but because it is a crystal healing all rounder can be used to align all of the chakras concentrating on the crown. The flow of energy to this point is aided by holding selenite for even as little as five minutes. Because of the concentration of focused flow in this area the user of this stone can work on attaining enhanced psychic ability.
The light and love energy that is opened forth by sitting with this stone concentrated in the crown chakra has been said to clear a contact with spirit guides and guardian angels. If you are in need of guidance from spirit and feel a draw to communicate and receive messages from spirit, sit with this stone holding the intention to let love and light energy into your being.
Welcome with love, guidance and remain grateful for anything that comes to you during this meditation of connection. Let go and silence the mind. Accept what comes as truth and thank your guides with sincere gratitude for lighting your spiritual path.
If nothing comes to you remain grateful. This could possibly indicate that the answers you seek are not simple and needs time to filter elements of the answer in parts over a series of sessions.
It could also mean that you are not ready to receive this particular information and the answer could be damaging. Remain grounded and grateful and return to this meditation when you can knowing that help is always available to the grateful seeker.
Using selenite in this way can activate the soul being to higher planes of awareness and existence. As aforementioned this is aided by the opening and attenuation towards and through the chakra located at the top of the head, the crown. Bringing with it purity, honesty and a freedom from self limiting inhibitions that allows the true self to emerge and flourish.
Is it possible to slither in a Harry Potter pun?
Due to the crystalline structure and texture, it is usual to find selenite in the shape of a wand. The reason for this is because pieces come away or break off it naturally in this manner. Think of a harder, whiter, cheese string and you’ll sort of see how this is the case.
Not only are wands way cool they are really trendy right now thanks to the boy who lived, Harry Potter and all their corresponding wand related hi-jinks. Wands are extremely useful for energetic crystal healing when used in this shape as they can be held easily in the hand making the direction of energy expelled or collected extremely focused and therefore more powerful.
Having one of these stones in your home will point or direct negative energies out and away from where you live just by having it there on display but it is said that by picking up this stone negativity can be dispelled and discharged very quickly as it travels down the shaft of the stone.
A good way to utilise this is upon returning home and as soon as you set foot in the door pick up your trusty selenite wand and before closing the door wave it over your head slowly and gently as too waft and dispel. This is an easy and fast method to remove any unwanted negative energies that you may have encountered while out and about and to prevent them from entering your home with you.
As now established, wands are cool and there are a lot of ways in which a wand can be harnessed for energetic healing. Here are a few techniques you can use with your wand of selenite or any crystal shaped wand (such as quartz, ametrine, amethyst, fluorite, lemurian sunrise smokey to name but a few):
- Hold the wand in your hand and pass it over to the other after five minutes to protect and clear the body with cleansing white light for a general body cleanse.
- To direct healing of oneself, upon holding the wand pass the tip of the wand over the affected area. When feeling a pull you have found where the energy needs to be directed.
- Feel the flow of love light energy as you gently pass the wand over the affected area for as long as it is felt is desired.
The technique above can also be used as a healer when using light energy healing on others for minor ailments, stiffness or tightening in muscles.
It’s weird to not be weird*
It cannot be overstated how grounding this stone can be, which sounds like a *paradox when considering that it is said this stone opens up the path to higher realms and creative intelligence. With greater awareness or levels of spirit and consciousness, however, there comes a greater harmonisation with and appreciation for others around you, nature and of course love.
This clear mindset and grounding assists by relieving anxiety and bringing about a calm that comes from developing on a spiritual path that selenite can clear the way for.
An incredibly, versatile, grounding healing crystal that can aid the user to unblock pathways to the higher self and realms. Selenite is an absolute must for the energetic healing practitioner.
Please note as with all of the crystal, mineral, fossils or healing stones sold on this site and as specified in the terms and conditions and the disclaimer that for the treatment for serious medical conditions it is advised that professional, conventional, medical advice be sought and followed.