A smoky elestial anhydrous quartz in a gazebo meditation space at Dragons Gate Gardens in Tenino. Owner Kathleen 'Auriel Rose' Greco considers herself caretakers of this and the hundreds of other giant quartz crystals that were once the private collection of geologist and renowned crystal collector Ilia Deleff.
Katleen 'Auriel Rose' Greco, owner of Dragons Gate Gardens, sits with a smoky elestial anhydrous quartz in a gazebo on her Tenino property. The stone is one of many in Greco's collection of giant crystals, which she delights in sharing with visitors.
A 'forest bathing' path within the Dragon's Gate property in Tenino.
A wooden sculpture left behind by a group of 'Hip Campers' who visited Dragon's Gate Gardens in Tenino. Owner Kathleen 'Auriel Rose' Greco said the beauty and healing powers of being in nature and on this very special property often inspires visitors.
Kathleen 'Auriel Rose' Greco, owner of Dragons Gate Gardens in Tenino, points out crystals mounted in an enclosure surrounding the property's hot tub. Many of Greco's giant crystals are located at various places on the property so that visitors can interact with them and receive the healing properties she believes they posses. Eventually Greco plans to build a temple where visitors could meditate in the presence of the giant crystals.
You could say that Dragon’s Gate Gardens was started more than 200 million years ago.
That’s when the giant crystals in the collection of Kathleen Greco, better known as Auriel Rose, were formed within the Earth’s crust near present-day Brazil. Today, she explained, she gets to be their caretaker. They contain wisdom that came from before her and will still have wisdom to impart after her lifetime.
When asked for her future plans for the property, Auriel can tell you about some dreams she has. But some of the plans are not entirely up to her, she explained.
“It may sound crazy but it’s not always up to me. Sometimes the crystals tell me. It’s a conversation,” she said.
Auriel came to the the rural Tenino property about nine and one-half years ago. She had lived her entire life in Seattle but settled in Tenino after an exhaustive search of properties in the Puget Sound to house her unique crystal collection. In all, she owns more than 15 tons of giant crystals that were the private collection of world-renowned geologist and crystal collector Ilia Deleff.
About 200 crystals Deleff salvaged from Brazil can be found in museum collections in areas including Paris, Strasbourg and Seattle. One of his smoky quartz crystals in the Paris was used as the model for the main crystal in the Jim Henson movie “The Dark Crystal.” But Deleff wanted to make sure that the giant crystals in his private collection did not end up behind glass or ropes, but where the public could touch, feel and interact with them.
“He was the keeper of the crystals,” Auriel said. “He really understood that the crystals themselves work as a library and the time would come when the people were ready they would be able to sit and meditate with them and they would receive that information.”
Auriel had a lifelong fascination with rocks and nature that began with her father. She met Deleff 25 years ago after seeing some photos of his quartz collection in Brazil and feeling drawn to it. Deleff, from Bulgaria, didn’t speak much English and Auriel didn’t speak much Bulgarian, but they were united by their common passion for the stones and she felt she was meant to be their next caretaker.
“It was interesting. It wasn’t like you were going down to get a rock collection. It was a romance,” Auriel explained. “Ilia made us understand we were from the same family.”
Because of permitting regulations, Dragon’s Gate Garden is not open to the public but is instead a private social club that is open by appointment only. For a $20 annual fee, people can become a member of the club and can set up times to come out to the property and Auriel will show them how they can heal in nature there. Some of the methods involve crystals, such as Auriel’s healing bed, which has several giant crystals laid beneath it, or a gazebo where visitors can meditate in the presence of a giant smoky (referring to the color) elestial (referring to its connection to the spiritual realm) anhydrous (referring to it having pockets of water trapped inside it) quartz or the seasonal hot tub, which is surrounded by crystals connected to LED lights for a spectacular night light show. But the property also offers corridors for walking and “forest bathing”. Auriel explained that simply spending time in nature has been proven to have restorative properties and she strives to provide education to visitors about different techniques they can use on the 126-acre property to relax, restore and reconnect in nature.
“We draw our heartbeat from the megahertz of the Earth. When astronauts leave the Earth, they can only be gone for so long before they get what is called space sickness,” Auriel said. “We come from this Earth and we get sick when we’re separated from her.”
Many people find Dragon’s Gate Gardens through the popular camping site Hipcamp.com. Auriel said they can also schedule a tour, which costs $5 per person. She said some visitors are believers in the healing and meditative power of crystals, others are just curious and some are skeptical. But she gets visitors of all walks of life.
“I find it interesting how people come or why they come or how they find us,” Auriel said.
Auriel is in the process of applying for Dragon’s Gate Gardens to become a church, which would be called the Church of the Tree of Life. Her eventual plan is to build a crystal temple where people could meditate among the giant crystals.
“It’s a process,” she said about her future plans for the crystal collection. “They have to be protected.”
Dragon’s Gate Gardens
Open by appointment only. For more information, go to https://dragonsgategardens.com/https://www.facebook.com/DragonsGateLlc/.
