Finally, the fourth group contains the contemporary crystal skulls. These are the crystal skulls that have been carved recently and are with few exceptions not yet fully activated. These are the skulls that most of us have available and that we learn with and from. This may give us a foundational experience of crystal skulls in general and prepare us for a deeper connection and understanding of the fully activated (old and ancient) crystal skulls. Ultimately this will help us to access and comprehend the information in the singing and original crystal skulls.
Using the four groups mentioned serves a number of functions. First, it shifts the attention from the current physical approach, which is solely mental and scientific. This approach asks, “Where do they come from? How old are they?” — which brings divisiveness in the crystal skull community. Instead of working together to get a deeper understanding of crystal skulls, often people debate about which crystal skull is oldest, which stories are false, who is right and so on. The issue of age is to a large degree irrelevant for understanding the information that crystal skulls contain. Secondly, this approach allows us to shift our focus to an energetic approach (feeling, experiencing) — “What can they do for us?” — with all the endless possibilities to explore ourselves, to heal ourselves, to gather information and to expand awareness of who we are. Thirdly, this approach offers the crystal skull community the opportunity to work together rather than competing with each other.
In the next two chapters, we will look at some examples of three of these four different groups. (Again, the original skulls will be discussed in Part 3.) Most of the crystal skulls belonging to the fully activated group and the Mitchell-Hedges Skull can each fill a separate book. Within the context of this book, I will restrict descriptions to short summaries and refer those who are interested in more information on specific skulls to other sources.
* * *
1 Joshua Shapiro and DesyRainbow Roodnat-Shapiro, Journeys of the Crystal Skull Explorers, e-book. (See http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/cs.html for more information.) This e-book has been published in Dutch in a condensed form: Kristallen Schedels, Een groot mysterie nader bekeken (The Netherlands: Akasha Publishing, 2006).
2 The website for the Crystal Skull Festival in Holland in October 2006 still exists and forms the basis for announcements of new events (http://www.crystalskullevents.org).
3 This information was given in a private session with Bashar in Los Angeles on June, 23, 2007.
Chapter 3
Some Famous Crystal Skulls and Their Caretakers
The Singing Skulls
A Native American legend speaks about twelve or thirteen singing crystal skulls (see chapter 8). I believe that the singing crystal skulls are the first crystal skulls that were physically made on Earth and that the Mitchell-Hedges Skull is one of them. I am aware that some people will not agree with me. However, I invite you to use your discernment to determine whether this skull is energetically different from the other fully activated or ancient skulls. In other words, is the energetic difference between the Mitchell-Hedges Skull and the other ancient crystal skulls greater than the difference between the other skulls within the group of ancient skulls?
The Mitchell-Hedges Skull [see Plate 1] is known to be the most famous ancient crystal skull. It is the subject of several books, has appeared in TV programs, has been featured in many articles, has been subjected to lengthy research and has even become highly controversial.1 It is a human-sized crystal skull made of clear quartz, weighs 11.7 pounds and is very beautiful. It has a detachable lower jaw, which makes this crystal skull unique [see Fig. 5].
Fig. 5. The Mitchell-Hedges crystal skull showing the detachable jaw. Photo © Amayra Hamilton with permission of Bill Homann
The story goes that the Mitchell-Hedges Skull was discovered on January 1, 1924, in the ruins of a Mayan city called Lubaantun (meaning “place of fallen stones”), during an archaeological expedition led by F.A. Mitchell-Hedges. It was actually his adopted daughter Anna who, according to the story, discovered the skull on her seventeenth birthday. The Mayan people present recognized the skull as a sacred object from their legends and deeply revered it. Mitchell-Hedges decided to give them their sacred object. However, when Mitchell-Hedges left, the Mayans returned the crystal skull to him as a gift to honor all he had done for them.
After the death of Mitchell-Hedges, Anna became the caretaker of the skull and traveled extensively with it, giving many people the opportunity to see and connect with this special crystal skull. She also allowed Frank Dorland, an art conservator and crystal specialist, to study the skull for six years. Dorland’s experiences have been summarized in his book Holy Ice: Bridge to the Subconscious. The Mitchell-Hedges Skull has amazed many people — in the first place because of the craftsmanship of its carving and secondly because of the effects it has had on people who have been in contact with it.
Joshua Shapiro’s e-book, Journeys of the Crystal Skull Explorers, contains an interview with Carey Robbins, who is a carver of crystal skulls. He has carved crystal skulls nearly as beautiful as the Mitchell-Hedges Skull, including one with a detachable jaw. He believes that he can produce a copy of the Mitchell-Hedges Skull with one significant difference. Carey knows someone who has spent a lot of time with the Mitchell-Hedges Skull and who is also the caretaker of some of Robbins’ own best crystal skull creations. Robbins relates that this person has experienced the Mitchell-Hedges crystal skull “singing” and has seen ancient images in it, and that this has never happened with the skulls Robbins has made.
There have been other skulls similar to the Mitchell-Hedges Skull that have been described. In the late 1940s, near the border of Guatemala and Honduras, Nick Nocerino reported having been shown another crystal skull with a detachable jaw that looked like an exact copy of the Mitchell-Hedges Skull, although it might have been slightly larger. The skull was made of rose quartz and it was carried by a man who might have been a Mayan priest. This report is very reliable, since it came directly from such a renowned researcher. This rose quartz skull has never been seen again — at least there are no other reports of that.2
In The Mystery of the Crystal Skulls, Morton and Thomas mention that Anna Mitchell-Hedges was approached by a family in Argentina who claimed to have a crystal skull similar to the Mitchell-Hedges Skull. The family reportedly did not want their name known for fear of theft of the skull.3 Could this be another singing skull?
There are more stories and rumors about crystal skulls with a detachable jaw. Nick Nocerino summarizes some of them in Mysteries of the Crystal Skulls Revealed. They all seem to be clear quartz crystal skulls of human size.4 One is claimed to have been found in the Sierras Madres in Mexico by a group of nine mentalists (mind readers) and their families.5 I am not surprised by this story, because when I was in that area I kept feeling the powerful presence of one or more crystal skulls (see chapter 8).
Another skull with a detachable jaw is the Zulu Skull, which was stolen from the Zulus. It was as large as the Mitchell-Hedges Skull and was called the Skull of Doom. It was highly revered but also feared. When F.A. Mitchell-Hedges brought the Mitchell-Hedges Skull to Africa, it was initially thought that this was the stolen Skull of Doom. They later realized that this was not the case.6
Another crystal skull that supposedly has a detachable jaw is the Berlin Skull. This skull was found by the Gestapo during World War II and was brought to Berlin. It was part of a collection of artifacts and icons with mystical powers that was collected for Hitler’s exclusive use. According to Nocerino, the skull was still in Berlin in 1985. It then was moved to Italy (possibly to the Vatican), but it may be back in Berlin.7
Nick Nocerino also shares that he has information of a clear quartz, very large crystal skull with a detachable jaw that is somewhere in Peru. It seemed to be in a place called the Valley of the Dead, but Nocerino was not able to find that place when he was in Peru.8
Most likely there are more singing skulls, hidden by those who are aware of their po
wer. My belief is that many of them will surface when those who truly understand them connect with them. According to the law of attraction, they will come to those who can match their energy frequencies. Most people who work with crystal skulls do not have that ability yet. As we will see, the fully activated crystal skulls (what we used to call “old” and “ancient” skulls), but also the contemporary skulls, will help us to develop the abilities to attract the singing skulls and ultimately to connect with the original ones.
Fully Activated Skulls (Old and Ancient Crystal Skulls)
Defining a crystal skull as old or ancient can be a sensitive issue for many reasons. The term “fully activated” can shift the focus onto using them as tools in which personal experience is emphasized. Nonetheless, any book on crystal skulls has to give at least some attention to what are known as the old and ancient crystal skulls.
Fig. 6. Max, the Texas crystal skull. Photo © Jaap van Etten
Max: Max is also known as the Texas crystal skull [see Plate 2].9 It is said that Max, made from clear quartz, was found in Guatemala between 1924 and 1926. The current caretaker, JoAnn Parks, travels extensively with Max, allowing thousands of people to view and experience him. No other caretaker of ancient crystal skulls puts in so much effort to share his or her crystal skull with the world as JoAnn does.
JoAnn and her husband received the skull in 1980 from a Red Hat Tibetan lama named Norbu Chen. This lama received the crystal skull in the early 1970s from a Mayan shaman in Mexico. Norbu Chen, along with his fellow monks, used Max for healing. Max has also been used in many Native American ceremonies.
Max was studied in the British Museum as part of the preparation of a BBC documentary on crystal skulls. Their intent was to prove that the crystal skulls they were testing were not ancient, and they concluded that the crystal skull from their own collection was a recent carving. Interestingly, the researchers did not want to give any conclusions or even comments about Max.10
Jeanne and I feel a special relationship with Max. Jeanne describes meeting with Max as meeting with an enlightened master, where she experiences an energy that she describes as love. My experience with Max is that with every meeting something else is awakened in me. These awakenings have helped me to connect deeper with the crystal skulls and have been of great importance to me.
Fig. 7. Ami, the Amethyst crystal skull. Photo © Stan Chan
Ami (the Amethyst crystal skull): Another ancient skull is Ami, better known as the Amethyst crystal skull.11 This skull seems to have been part of a collection that was on the desk of President Porfirio Diaz of Mexico sometime between 1876 and 1911. In the year 1911, the Mexican revolution removed President Diaz, and Ami went to the Lascurian family in Mexico. It stayed there until Francisco Reyes, a Mayan priest, purchased the skull in 1979. As an agent for Reyes, John Zamora brought Ami to the United States. In 1983, a group of nine businessmen gave a loan to Zamora. The loan was never repaid, and this group assumed the role of caretaker.
Currently, Ami is for sale for one million dollars. It resides in a vault in California and is rarely displayed, so only a limited number of people have been able to connect with it. It is considered to be a skull for healing and makes a deep impression on those who have seen it. The skull is characterized by a circular indentation at the temples and a white squiggly line that goes around its circumference.
The Mayan Skull: The Mayan Skull is similar in appearance to Ami.12 This crystal skull is made of clear quartz and has round indentations at the temples similar to Ami. According to the Mayan priest Francisco Reyes — who in 1979 brought both the Mayan Skull and Ami to the United States through his agent John Zamora — the Mayan Skull was found at the Mayan site of Copán, Honduras, in 1912. It was loaned to Nick Nocerino for three months for research. In 1980, John Zamora received a loan from someone in Texas and the Mayan Skull was used as collateral. The loan was never repaid, and the current whereabouts of the Mayan Skull are unknown.
Fig. 8. E.T., a smoky quartz skull. Photo © Jaap van Etten
E.T.: The skull E.T. is a smoky quartz skull that was found in 1906 in Guatemala by a Mayan family while digging on their property [see Plate 4].13 The skull is a little larger than a human skull, with a slightly pointed head and an overbite. In 1991, Joky van Dieten, who lived at that time in Costa Rica, intuitively felt that she needed to call a particular store near Los Angeles to ask for a crystal skull. The store at that time did not have any skulls, but a few days later a crystal skull from Guatemala was offered to them. Joky bought it, became the caretaker and named the skull E.T.
Joky used E.T. to help her heal from a complex operation in which a large tumor was removed from her head. In May 1999, during a Crystal Skull Conference in Sedona, Arizona, E.T. was acknowledged by Mayan representatives as a lost Mayan skull According to them, E.T. came from the Pleiades. The Mayan representatives confirmed in a sunrise ceremony that Joky was the rightful guardian.
I have met E.T. a couple of times and have been very impressed by this crystal skull. It not only has an alien look but it also feels somewhat alien. I had the most powerful experience with E.T. when we met for the first time in 2000. Joky allowed me to position the skulls I had with me around E.T. and create an energy field in which the crystal skulls could exchange energies. Staring intently at E.T., I could see the energy field above the skull opening. It was as if I was watching a science fiction movie. Through the opening (doorway/portal) came a number of beings. They were long and slender, and were radiating light. They positioned themselves around the circle of skulls with E.T. in the center. I was included in the circle and I felt a lot of energy, but I did not receive information I could understand. The experience was so powerful that I completely forgot I was in a room full of people!
Fig. 9. ShaNaRa, a clear quartz skull. Photo © Cees Brouwer
ShaNaRa: ShaNaRa is a clear quartz skull that was found in 1995 during an excavation of a Mayan site in the state of Guerrero in Mexico [see Plate 3].14 Nick Nocerino provided the information as to the location of what he thought was an ancient temple. Excavation of that location later revealed several carved crystal artifacts, one of which was ShaNaRa.15 Nick Nocerino was the caretaker until he passed away. Now his wife Khrys and Kirby Seid are the co-caretakers. This skull has been part of many events and was also investigated by the research team of the British Museum. As with Max, no official comment has been given, although unofficially both Max and ShaNaRa are considered ancient skulls.16
Fig. 10. Rainbow has been thoroughly studied by the Society of Crystal Skulls International. Original source unknown
Rainbow: According to Chuck Pelton, a student of Nick Nocerino, another crystal skull was discovered near the tomb where ShaNaRa was found, which may have been used by the same people.17 Currently DaEl Walker is the caretaker of this skull, which he calls Rainbow.18 DaEl, however, seems to have a different history: “Rainbow came to me three years ago. It was a trade for some other material I had. The trader said it came down to him from his Grandfather and was given to him by two priests from Guatemala. I have not been able to verify this.”19 Are these variations of the same story? The skull has been thoroughly studied by the Society of Crystal Skulls International. According to Pelton, it is one of the crystal skulls that seem to have a connection with Atlantis.20
Fig. 11. Synergy, a large clear quartz skull. Photo © Jaap van Etten
Synergy: Sherry Whitfield received the crystal skull Synergy in 2001 as a gift from a European businessman named George [see Plate 5].21 George acquired Synergy around 1986 to 1987 from a very old native man in a tiny village in the Andes, near the borders of Peru, Bolivia and Chile.
The story goes that when the people of a tribe on a small island in Micronesia saw a picture of the skull, they believed this was the crystal skull that, according to their traditions, was sent in a reed boat from their island to South America. The Micronesians believe that the skull is very old, and based on this, it is believed by some that Synergy originated in Lemuri
a.
Synergy is a large clear quartz skull. Initially Sherry displayed Synergy in her stores, but now she travels so it can be viewed and experienced by people worldwide at conferences and events, and in private sessions. I met Synergy in the Netherlands in 2006 during the Crystal Skull Festival. There was not much time for a longer personal connection, but in the short moment I was able to touch Synergy, I felt a powerful surge of energy going through my arms and body. It awakened a longing to connect with this skull on a deeper level.
Fig. 12. Two small Himalayan Skulls. Photo © Frank Loo
The Himalayan Skulls: I would like to add a group of skulls to the list that is not without controversy: the Himalayan Skulls, which are sometimes referred to as the Beijing Skulls.22 This group consists of fourteen large skulls, eight small skulls, a nephrite skull and a large meteorite skull. Frank Loo discovered them in caves in the Himalayas in China and brought them to the U.S. People who knew he was interested in ancient artifacts had provided him with information that, over two years, led him to find these artifacts. Along with the crystal skulls, he found three disks that are called Dropa disks. This has led to the conclusion that the skulls are ancient and may have been made by the Dropas. The story of the Dropas seems to be one both of information and misinformation.
The story starts in 1938 with Chi Pu Tei, a professor of archaeology at the Beijing University who went with his students on an expedition to explore a series of caves in the Himalayan Mountains in the Bayan-Kara-Ula area in Qinghai, on the border of China and Tibet. It is believed that these caves were artificially carved. In the caves, they found tombs with short (four feet and some inches) skeletons buried within. These skeletons had abnormally large heads. There were no marks on the graves, but hundreds of round stones, a foot wide with a hole in the center, were found. The caves also had drawings on the wall. The drawings and the disks were estimated to be about twelve thousand years old.
Crystal Skulls Page 4