The Crystal on the Mirror

After a long hiatus, I am finally returning to why I have a crystal on my rear view window. The crystal on my rear view mirror probably does not have the same importance as my dreamcatcher, but I have always wanted one for my car and when I saw the right one at a craft festival I snatched it up.

As do most people who have them, I wanted it because crystals bend light in such a way to create a rainbow of the ray that hits it. I love the rainbows scattered throughout my car on a sunny day. They are beautiful, graceful, fascinating. The "New Agers" as they have been referred to have held certain beliefs in regards to crystals that I personally do not hold. A chemistry major is never going to be fully impressed by stories of magic powers in any form of rock. We know the chemical structure which takes all the mystery out of it. There is no mysticism about crystals, just that they hold great beauty. *

Rainbows are another story. In the old testament, the rainbow was said to be the covenant between God and mankind that he would never subject the Earth to such a devastating flood as the one he subjected the world to prompting Noah to build the ark. I am not one to view the rainbow in any kind of religious sense but the rainbow did come after a devastating flood and symbolized good news to the people who saw it.

They are fleeting things but especially here in the mountains, can be stunning beautiful. I have seen some of the better ones stop traffic. Rainbows here are more beautiful than I have seen anywhere else in the world. I was treated to my first double rainbow only after moving to central Pennsylvania and have been lucky enough to have seen several since. At times, it seems that they were meant to occur around times of happiness. I saw a stunning one around the time that a colleague gave birth to her son. The picture here was taken on the day we finally were moving from our cramped apartment to the dream home that we had finally been able to build after a long struggle. That was a very happy time for our family.

But then, sometimes they are just pretty. So I like to see them, and see them frequently. They bring happiness, sometimes good news and at least signify that the Sun is coming out to nourish the plants and help life thrive on the Earth. So I have a crystal hanging from my rear view mirror. My own little piece of civil disobedience to bring light into my life. A minor traffic regulation is not enough of a reason for me to take it down from my rear view mirror. They will have to catch me speeding first.

*Gentlemen, DO NOT take this to mean that a woman who has majored in chemistry is not going to show interest in "bling" as it were. Very few women, regardless of their level of scientific training is going to be able to resist the deep sparkle of a perfectly cut flawless diamond, especially when they are really clean and under the lights at a jeweler's case. The same goes for rubies, emeralds and a whole array of colors of sparkly stones that look good adorned on a woman's body somewhere. Dating a scientist will not get you off easy. Sorry.