This article first appeared in AVALON magazine, Summer 2005:

CRYSTAL SKULLS: THE MIDDLE WAY
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       Crystal expert Paul Harrison offers a new perspective on the quartz skulls which fascinate so many people with their strange beauty.

The "crystal skull craze" has been racing ahead at full steam for a number of years now, but a more middle-of-the-road version of the reason why they are here doesn't seem to have gelled yet.

In one corner we have the scientifically-minded viewer of the crystal skull phenomenon saying that they are just lumps of quartz rock, carved into human skull shapes, and suitable for use as paper weights or door stops.

In the other corner we have an opposing perspective from the more spiritually-motivated viewer, talking of spiritual messages, strange energies, the 'Atlantean group of seven or fourteen' and information the skulls are said to provide for present humankind.

These are, of course, the two opposites we all have to get to grips with in life.  There are scientists cloning sheep and genetically modifying life forms on the one hand, and 'spiritual scientists' opening and closing earth chakra points and connecting with leylines on the other. The central viewpoint, or 'middle way', is the one which helps bind the two opposites together.  And this perspective has not yet been put forward in equal terms to suit scientist, spiritualist and - most of all - the millions of people in the middle ground of "Don't know"s.

Religions all have individual ways in which they interpret the messages from Gods, Goddesses, or other higher beings.  But they are all separate institutions, pursuing their daily goals of growing and maintaining their belief systems within each consecutive generation of followers. When you step back and look at this world mix, in which there seems to be so much religiously-motivated violence, it is often hard to picture them all coming together - or even being on speaking terms with one another sometimes!

There is another way, though - a middle way.  And it can be cultivated steadily each day by simple belief, belief in ourselves as a whole collective race.

Crystal skulls are here in the middle ground to help provide a "common running thread" between all humans. The skulls are not sexist, classist, or racist, because they represent every single man, woman and child on Earth. A crystal skull is a good way of representing the entire human species; whereas if we had entire heads shaped from crystal, people would argue as to which continent each head-type belonged to, and what colour of skin each crystal artefact represented.

And although they are finished smoothly like bone skulls, they are not skulls at all; because a real skull is the uppermost part of a human skeletal structure, while a crystal skull was never intended to have anything attached to it.

I am not going to write about the physical or chemical properties of crystal skulls, even though I have acquired a large number of them.  Nor am I going to write about the spiritual information I have received as a result of experiencing those same crystal skulls.

But I will say this: I think the message today is to try to get as many people as possible to believe in themselves as members of the whole human race - instead of as members of some separate institution, following rules and customs invented by previous generations.

We live in an exciting modern world.  The more common threads we can find to help bind us together as a single species with unified aims and shared understanding, the better.

Football, athletics, war, and of course natural disasters such as the recent tsunami, are 'common running threads' in themselves.  They focus the world's attention on events which cross all borders, political systems and of course religions.  And while politicians and religious leaders may bang on the top of the debating table, the rest of the world can hold hands underneath it.  That's what empathy, compassion and love can do - and they cannot be stopped.

Crystal skulls are universally-recognised symbols.  But they do have bad press to fight - because of the film industry, and because skulls are used to represent danger or mortality rates.  Yet while a plastic gun and a crystal skull can both appear frightening at first glance, when a second look is taken, a gentle smile can be raised because they aren't that frightening really; it's all in the mind!

What a crystal skull really represents is the shape of the human skull which holds our brain and our conscious connections (both mental and spiritual), which in turn guide our physical movements. The skulls are also an ideal symbol to help us believe in ourselves; for they do not have status, designer clothes or jewellery with them. Once we have that belief in ourselves as a whole, then we can reflect it out to the environment, where it will directly affect all of us.

Crystal skulls are not something to buy and hide away.  They are something to display proudly in the home, causing heads to turn and inviting questions - in much the same way as teenagers try to shock by changing their appearance. Once crystal skulls are more widely accepted, then they will feature more often in spiritual awakenings and channelled messages.  But they do need to have wider audiences than limited spiritual workshops.

Of course the human skull was not invented by human beings, but humans have, alas, invented many ways of controlling it and the body which houses it. So when we think of a crystal skull, we do not necessarily have to relate it to death; we can simply relate it to the Divine creative force which created us in the first place.  And by cutting out the "middle man" of the institutions, we can all feel the source for ourselves.

Crystal skulls are here to stay.  By relating them to the familiar skull shape within our own living heads, we can begin to understand that they are here to assist with the arbitration procedure for all humankind, and to show that we are all part of the same shared earth.  Further spiritual messages will come forward for humankind in the future I am sure, but meanwhile the "middle way" perspective needs to be explored further, so that more people can be ready to hear the messages when they do arrive.

©  Paul Harrison, 2005

Paul Harrison is a crystal expert who manages Orb & Sceptre crystal in Chesterfield. He can be contacted at Orb & Sceptre, 2 Prospect Road, Pilsley, Chesterfield S45 8EY,by  e-mail at bypaulharrison@hotmail.com, or telephone 01773 874407.  This article first appeared in AVALON magazine, Summer 2005.