Rutilated Quartz

Rutilated quartz is a variety of quartz, the silicon dioxide mineral, threaded through with fine needle-shaped crystals of another mineral, rutile. Wikipedia says the needles mostly have a golden look but can also be silvery, coppery red or black; they may be strewn at random, gathered in bundles or arranged like a star, and where they crowd together the stone turns nearly opaque. Unusually for a gem, these inclusions add to its worth rather than spoiling it. Hall describes it as colourless or smoky quartz whose strands run golden brown, black or reddish, readily found in all sizes, and also calls it angel hair; Wikipedia records the name Venus' hair stone. Cunningham names it among a dozen or so stones worth keeping to begin with, and treats it as a stone of energy, worn in ritual or set on the stone altar to make the magic more effective. Hall associates it with cleansing the aura, guarding against psychic attack, scrying, astral travel, letting go of the past and forgiveness, and she uses it in past-life work. She also gives it physical healing uses, among them easing exhaustion.