This paper describes an experiment where microscopic birefringent particles, such as calcite, are optically aligned and rotated using laser traps. The particles are held in three-dimensional optical traps using high power laser light (30-300 mW at 1064 nm) without heating due to their transparency. The rotation is achieved by transferring angular momentum from the light to the particles. The particles can be aligned with the plane of polarization or spin with constant rotation frequency depending on the polarization of the incident beam. The experiment uses a calcite crystal, which acts as a waveplate due to its birefringent nature. When the incident light is elliptically polarized, the calcite particles experience a torque due to the change in polarization of the light. The torque is calculated using the electric field of the light and its complex conjugate. The rotation frequency depends on the laser power and the degree of ellipticity of the polarization. The results show that calcite particles can be rotated at high frequencies (up to 357 Hz) when trapped in circularly polarized light. The rotation is controlled by adjusting the polarization of the trapping beam. The experiment demonstrates that calcite particles act as microscopic waveplates and can be used to measure the viscosity of fluids or to control the orientation of probe particles for microscopy. The study shows that optical torques can be exerted on microscopic objects with high precision and efficiency, with minimal heating. The results have implications for the development of optically driven micromachines, such as pumps, stirrers, or cogwheels, and could also be used to study the viscosity of small fluid samples or the alignment of calcite particles for microscopy. The birefringence of biological samples is usually much less than that of calcite, but may sometimes be large enough to allow similar alignment and rotation effects.This paper describes an experiment where microscopic birefringent particles, such as calcite, are optically aligned and rotated using laser traps. The particles are held in three-dimensional optical traps using high power laser light (30-300 mW at 1064 nm) without heating due to their transparency. The rotation is achieved by transferring angular momentum from the light to the particles. The particles can be aligned with the plane of polarization or spin with constant rotation frequency depending on the polarization of the incident beam. The experiment uses a calcite crystal, which acts as a waveplate due to its birefringent nature. When the incident light is elliptically polarized, the calcite particles experience a torque due to the change in polarization of the light. The torque is calculated using the electric field of the light and its complex conjugate. The rotation frequency depends on the laser power and the degree of ellipticity of the polarization. The results show that calcite particles can be rotated at high frequencies (up to 357 Hz) when trapped in circularly polarized light. The rotation is controlled by adjusting the polarization of the trapping beam. The experiment demonstrates that calcite particles act as microscopic waveplates and can be used to measure the viscosity of fluids or to control the orientation of probe particles for microscopy. The study shows that optical torques can be exerted on microscopic objects with high precision and efficiency, with minimal heating. The results have implications for the development of optically driven micromachines, such as pumps, stirrers, or cogwheels, and could also be used to study the viscosity of small fluid samples or the alignment of calcite particles for microscopy. The birefringence of biological samples is usually much less than that of calcite, but may sometimes be large enough to allow similar alignment and rotation effects.