X is for Xesturgy
X is traditionally a difficult letter to fit into this blog. While I couldn’t find any stones or crystals that started with X , thanks to the Greeks, the process of polishing stones is called Xesturgy.
Creating a smooth, shiny stone takes a certain amount of time, but it isn’ t rocket science. You can do it by hand or you can buy a rock tumbler and let technology do the work. Polishing rocks by hand involves sandpaper, water, and time.
You can make your own rock tumbler with just a few cheap ingredients. Here’s a link to give you an idea how it’s done. Homemade tumbler
Rock tumblers will run you anywhere from $35 to over $200. Since the stones will need to be tumbled for hours, a tumbler in the $60 and up range are probably going to last longer than the cheaper ones which seem to be designed for projects with kids. Serious rock tumblers are at least 150. RockTumbler.com is a great place to begin shopping and advice . Here is a particularly helpful page–How to tumble Rocks
Tumblers come in two flavors, rotating and vibrational. Vibrational tumblers are a bit faster and a bit quieter and a bit more expensive.
And then you need the grit in various levels of grittiness to add to the tumbler. You use coarse grit to start with, working your way to polishing dust at the end. The same idea goes if you hand polish the stones—begin with coarse sandpaper and work your way down to a polishing cloth.
Like any hobby, it costs a bit to get started but the results and the enjoyment are worth it.
Your goal is to turn this
to this.
Do you love witches and crystals and romance and danger? Make a note on your Calendar: Zoraida Grey and the Family Stones will be released by Oghma Creative Media in September. Go HERE to find out more!
Monday’s Crystal Fix: Witch Stones
Bonus--Last year for the A-Z Blog challenge, my theme was Magic. See the X is for . . . post HERE.
Just Like Gravity is about past lives and karma. Get a copy of Just Like Gravity HERE or HERE
4 thoughts on “A-Z Blog Challenge 2015–Crystal Fix–Xesturgy”
Turning rocks into gemstones is a time consuming project, but rock tumbler machines have made this task easy. Even when using rock tumbler, there are a few do’s and don’ts that one should keep in mind before starting the process.
I should get a rock tumbler as I’m always picking up rocks here and there. My dad used to have one, and they always turned out so pretty. Now, my 5 y.o. grandson has been wanting one as he is fascinated with rocks. Didn’t know it was called Xesturgy.
I would love to have one for the same reason–always rocks being carried into the house. Thanks for reading and commenting and liking during this month. I appreciate it a bunch.
You are most welcome. I’ve really enjoyed reading and learning more about rocks, stones, gems, and crystals. Such a great theme for this year’s A2Z 🙂 Wishing you all the best in the future, and lots of blogging fun!