Crossing Cultures: Exploring the Spiritual and Geological Origins of Fairy Crosses
Is it a St. Andrew’s cross? A Roman cross? A Maltese cross? Like beauty, how the natural phenomena of the stones known as fairy crosses are interpreted is in the eye of the beholder. These unique, cross-shaped stones have been prized as lucky charms for many people over the years, including Woodrow Wilson, Thomas Edison, Charles Lindbergh, and Theodore Roosevelt. They have also highly cherished by craftspeople who fashion the stones into jewelry as beautiful and unusual as the stones themselves.
The legends and stories of how those stones originated are as varied and illustrious as the forms of the fairy crosses themselves. The most popular story tells that when the people of the Cherokee Nation were moved from their tribal home to Oklahoma on the “Trail of Tears,” the Cherokee’s teardrops fell to the ground along the way and became tiny crosses of stone.
There is another legend of the origin of the fairy crosses that is not as well known. It is another Cherokee legend, a religious story that says the fairy crosses were made from the tears of “spirit people” called Nunnehi, which turned into crosses of stone after the death of Christ.
The Nunnehi were immortals that dwelled in the mountains, in towns under the Cherokee hills. They could make themselves invisible at will after they came in possession of the tiny fairy crosses. The crosses have the power to make the owner invisible at will. Sometimes the tiny crosses were supposed to give the owner the power to dive into the ground and emerge amidst the enemy, free to scalp and kill with sudden terror and destruction.
These stones were renowned not only for bringing their owners luck (and invisibility) but have also been thought to alleviate depression and addictions, and negate a tendency to overwork and over commit energy. They are also supposed to be wonderful for relieving stress and overcoming nicotine addiction.
In spite of all the legends surrounding fairy crosses, these uniquely shaped stones do have a valid scientific explanation. Found in rocks that have been subjected to extreme heat and pressure, fairy stones are composed of staurolite (a combination of silica, iron, and aluminum), the official state mineral. These minerals often crystallize into a twin form that gives the stones a cross-like structure, usually less than an inch in length.
Geologists say that the crystals that form the fairy crosses are not always made of the same material. Different minerals found in different regions shape these crystals into different forms, giving them distinctive shapes which resemble three different forms of religious crosses — St. Andrews, Roman, and Maltese.
Whether you believe the legends or science, there is one thing for sure — the cruciform staurolite stone is truly a unique gift from God.
