According to the Ancient Greek philosopher Plato, crystals are formed from the stars and planets. The Australian Aboriginals and the Native North Americans consider crystals the bones of mother earth herself.
Crystals and gems were very important to the Ancient Egyptians as amulets. Lapis lazuli and red jasper were dedicated to the goddess Isis.
We know that the crystals we now enjoy and use were created in the womb of the earth over millions of years by the action of water, wind and volcanic fire. We know that they carry the life force and healing powers from earth and sky.
Their healing properties were recorded more than 3,500 years ago by the Ancient Egyptians, and by cultures in China and India. Indeed, crystals have always been part of the folk wisdom of ordinary men, women and children. Give any child a bag of crystals and he or she will instantly choose the correct crystal to relieve a headache or sore throat.
This book records the myths and the mystical and astrological associations of more than 150 crystals. Some of these stones have been used for thousands of years and enjoy a rich history and mythology. Others are more recent discoveries, cast up by the earth mother to heal modern ills and the pollution of earth, sea and sky caused by careless humankind.
Above all, The Illustrated Directory of Healing Crystals forms a personal resource and workbook. It will be appropriate for both the complete beginner to crystal healing and for more experienced practitioners, who may welcome the new ideas and approaches they will discover here.
Ultimately, however, we are all crystal experts if we trust our intuitive powers: in our crystal work we can access a universal well of crystal wisdom, passed through our genetic heritage. By allowing each crystal to speak directly to our hearts and work, its healing energies will amplify our own innate healing powers to bring peace and spiritual harmony to people, animals and places.
You will need two or three round or oval crystals the size of a large coin for healing and for spiritual development. If you already have personal crystals, you can use those, as they are endowed with your personal magic and energies. If you do not have any crystals, a small piece of tumbled or rough amethyst, citrine and clear quartz would make a good initial purchase.
You can gradually build up your crystal collection, so that you have crystals in all the main colours for healing, divination and ritual. Some people prefer to have a separate set of healing crystals, but others feel, as I now do, that by using the same crystals for all their work, the crystals become very powerful and personalized. You may also decide to buy a crystal sphere or geode and keep your special crystals and larger pieces in your magical crystal place.
A clear crystal pendulum is a very useful purchase. You can use it to cleanse and charge other crystals, make an instant intuitive decision (see here), trace your inner bodily psychic energy pathways, and unblock stagnant chakras, the psychic energy centres within our body.
Your pendulum can also help you to find lost objects, to identify ley energies – the psychic power lines within the earth – and to pick up on ghostly presences. The spontaneous positive swing will affirm a yes response when questions are asked, indicate that energies are flowing freely within you and that you are on the right track if you are following a trail. The direction of this swing can be identified by thinking of a happy event in your life while holding the pendulum. It is often, but not always, a clockwise circling. Think of a sad event to see the spontaneous negative response, usually an anticlockwise movement. It may indicate a blockage in the energy system or that you have moved away from the correct path physically.
You can deliberately circle your pendulum clockwise over your body to energize your system. If you circle it anticlockwise it will unblock a stagnant area in your body or remove pain or sickness.
An amethyst or rose quartz crystal will cleanse gentler crystals, and both are good for clearing negative earth energies in the home.
Each of the 150 crystals in this directory is assigned to the chakra that it will most effectively cleanse and energize. Each chakra is associated with an area of the body and an emotional state. Chakras are swirling psychic energy centres within the body, interconnecting points for thousands of tiny energy channels. Apply a crystal a few inches above a chakra point, rotating it anticlockwise to unblock, cleanse and calm if the energies are too intense and then clockwise to energize. Let your hand and intuition guide your actions. You can also lie with the appropriate chakra crystal on each chakra point to rebalance the whole system.
Colour: Red.
Location for healing: The base of the spine, the perineum or the soles of the feet (the feet chakras are ruled by the root chakra).
Areas of influence: Legs, feet and skeleton (including the teeth), bowel and large intestine. The root chakra relates to material comfort and awareness of reality. It is the source of the kundalini (or serpent energy) that provides the driving power for the chakra system.
Imbalances: Pain and tension in the body parts it controls, constipation or an irritable bowel. A lack of energy and an inability to relax: the flight-or-fight mechanism in over-drive. Irritability, anger or paralyzing fear.
Colour: Orange.
Location for healing: The centre of the sacrum/lower abdomen, around the reproductive system.
Areas of influence: The blood, all bodily fluids, hormones, the reproductive system, kidneys, circulation and bladder. Sensuality, desires and cravings.
Imbalances: Fluid retention, menstrual or menopausal problems. Mood swings. Impotence in men and frigidity in women. Emotional problems with food, alcohol, cigarettes or compulsive behaviour.
It is possible to balance the body’s energy and circulate healing throughout the body by using crystals associated with each of the chakras (psychic energy centres).
Colour: Yellow.
Location for healing: Above the navel, around the central stomach area or, according to some chakra practitioners, further up towards the central cavity of the lungs.
Areas of influence: Digestion, the liver, spleen, gall bladder, stomach, small intestine and the metabolism. The solar plexus chakra affects will-power, independence and the ability to learn from experience.
Imbalances: Digestive disorders, gallstones, sluggish metabolism. Food intolerances. Inflexible attitudes, hyperactivity and lack of self-confidence.
Colour: Green or pink.
Location: The centre of the chest, level with the heart. There are minor chakras in the palm of each hand.
Areas of influence: Heart, lungs, breasts and arms. The development of compassion and spiritual love. The awareness of past lives and ancient worlds. Healing powers, especially using herbs and crystals.
Imbalances: Constant coughs and colds, breathing difficulties, food intolerances and allergies, and heart palpitations. Psychosomatic illnesses and oversensitivity to the problems of others.
Amethyst opens the brow chakra, giving access to dreams, inner vision and intuitive powers.
Colour: Blue.
Location for healing: Close to the Adam’s apple in the centre of the neck.
Areas of influence: Throat and speech organs, mouth, the neck and shoulders and the passages that run up to the ears. The ability to communicate and creative powers. Healing with sound. Out-of-body experiences, divination, psychic dreams and clairaudience. Access to the cosmic memory bank.
Imbalances: Sore throats, swollen glands in the neck, mouth ulcers and ear problems. Inability to express feelings or translate thoughts and ideas into workable plans.
Colour: Indigo/purple.
Location for healing: Just above the bridge of the nose, in the centre of the brow.
Areas of influence: Eyes and ears, sinuses, the left and right hemispheres of the brain and the central cavity of the brain. Communication with angels and devas. Spiritual healing abilities, mediumship and prophetic powers. The brow chakra connects us to our guides and our own higher knowledge.
Imbalances: Unexplained blurred vision, headaches and migraines and blocked sinuses. Earache, insomnia and nightmares.
Colour: White/violet.
Location for healing: The top of the head, where the skull bones meet. The crown chakra extends to about three finger breadths above the top of the head.
Areas of influence: The brain and the whole body. The soul/psyche. Experience of archangels, ascended beings and the source of divinity through mystical experiences. Healing through prayer. Through the crown chakra we may momentarily glimpse divinity and feel at one with the universe.
Imbalances: Headaches and migraines. Inefficient functioning of the immune system. Forgetfulness and frequent minor accidents. A lack of meaning in life.
Each colour contains qualities and strengths that are amplified by the power of crystal. Colours are absorbed through the skin and the optic nerves. Psychically they are assimilated into the human energy field or aura and from there, via the seven chakras, they go to wherever specific colour strengths are needed in the body or mind.
The aura is a constantly flowing coloured rainbow. It extends about an arm span all around the body and head in an ellipse. Because it filters pollution and negative emotions, the aura becomes discoloured or dull and needs regular cleansing and energizing at least once a week.
If you want to check the health of an aura, stand in front of a mirror, or set your subject framed with light, and focus on the area around the head, where the aura is most visible. Stare hard, close your eyes, open them, blink and look again and you will see, either in your mind’s vision or externally, the rainbow colours. With practise you will see areas of darkness or any missing colours from what should be a rainbow spectrum.
If in doubt as to which colour to use, either for the aura or for general empowerment, arrange a crystal of each colour (include grey, brown and pink, as these often appear in auras as well) in a circle on a table. Pass your pendulum clockwise a couple of inches above each crystal slowly; your pendulum will vibrate and pull down over one or more colours, showing you what you need.
Chrysoprase brings freshness and vitality to counteract the stresses and pollution of urban life.
Clear quartz is especially powerful for cleansing the auric field. It fills the entire system with joy, light and a sense of optimism.
Find the edge of the aura by holding both palms over the head a few inches away and continuing to move your hands outwards until you encounter resistance: this is the extent of the auric field. Spiral the chosen crystals in turn (or one in each hand simultaneously if you have two) over your head or that of your patient, first anticlockwise to cleanse and then clockwise to energize the aura.
♦ Carry a crystal in a pouch or wear it as jewellery to infuse yourself slowly and continuously with the chosen colour quality.
♦ Sleep with a stone under your pillow.
♦ Soak a crystal in a cup of still mineral water for eight hours and drink the water, splash it on your pulse points or add it to your water when you bathe.
♦ Add coloured crystals to your bath water.
♦ Hold the chosen coloured crystal in cupped hands and gently breathe in its light through your nose. Exhale visualized dark light as a sigh through your mouth.
♦ Once a week, by candlelight or in natural sun-or moonlight, sit inside a circle of crystals, one of each colour. Visualize the colours entering your aura. You will absorb the colours in which you are deficient.
The meaning of colour in magic and healing
White: White increases the flow of the life force. It is good for new beginnings, enthusiasm, clarity of purpose, spiritual insights or inspiration.
The colour white heals the body, mind and spirit at all levels. It effectively relieves pain, depression and inertia. White helps bone and tooth maintenance and promotes the flow of breast milk in nursing mothers.
Red: The colour red increases power, determination, physical energy and health. It denotes courage, sexual passion and potency and positive change.
Red instantly boosts energy levels and it will kick-start a sluggish immune system. It is good for the reproductive organs in both men and women. It increases fertility and helps menstrual problems, sexual dysfunction, blood and the circulation.
Orange: Vibrant orange increases self-esteem and confidence and strengthens a sense of identity. Orange is a joy bringer and promotes peace and harmony.
Orange is good for the pulse rate, and the gall bladder. It relieves bladder and kidney problems, food allergies and eating disorders. It aids rheumatism, arthritis and exhaustion.
Yellow: The colour yellow is associated with the mind and aids logic, memory, concentration, willpower and communication. It helps skills to do with technology. It is good for job changes and local house moves and short-term or time travel. Use yellow for overcoming money troubles.
Yellow stimulates the nervous system, calms the digestive system, aids eczema and skin problems and increases metabolic rate.
Green: Green increases love, empathy and compassion. It is good for working with nature and the environment. It brings a gradual increase of prosperity and good fortune.
Green strengthens the heart, lungs and respiratory system and helps fight infections and viruses. Green is useful to counter panic attacks and addictions.
Blue: Blue increases existing opportunities in career, business or finances and improves leadership qualities. Blue aids long-distance travel and house moves and promotes success in both legal and official matters.
The colour of healers, blue is a natural antiseptic. It also relieves headaches and migraines, fevers, high blood pressure, eye strain, earache and sore throats.
Purple: Purple relates to the inner self, unconscious wisdom, increasing psychic powers, meaningful dreams, accurate divination, meditation, past-life work and psychic protection.
This all-healer relieves allergies, asthma, sleep disorders, eye, ear, nose and skin problems and migraines. The colour purple is a natural sedative.
Pink: Pink represents kindness, reconciliation, families, friends and children. Pink also symbolizes the development of new love and trust after a betrayal or abuse.
This gentle healer relieves ear and gland problems, headaches and psychosomatic illnesses. It is helpful for disorders relating to babies, children, adolescent girls and pregnant and menopausal women.
Brown: The colour brown is associated with the element of earth and offers physical and psychic protection. It relates to the home, property matters, day-to-day finances and learning new skills, especially later in life.
Brown absorbs pain and sorrow and increases long-term stamina. It relieves disorders of the feet, legs, hands and bowels. It is useful in animal healing.
Grey: This useful colour lowers your profile in dangerous or confrontational situations. It neutralizes negative energies or feelings, aids compromise and adaptability and helps you to keep secrets.
Grey heals the immune system, reduces stress and fear and dulls chronic pain.
Black: The colour of regeneration, black represents beginnings after natural endings in life. Black banishes negativity, helps to heal old sorrows and allows you to move on from redundant or destructive relationships.
Black slows down an overactive, stressed system. It heals the skeletal system, especially the spine, removes blockages in the lower body, and overcomes trauma and shock. It is useful in debilitating illnesses.
Crystals act as a transmitter and amplifier of healing energy whether the patient is present or absent and whether healing power is directed through the hands, the voice or the mind – or all of these simultaneously. Almost every healer asks for help in healing from a higher source, whether from God, the Goddess, a healing deity, an angel, a spirit guide or the wise light of the universe.
At the beginning and end of a healing session, hold your crystal in your hands, raise it to your heart and ask in your own words that your healing may be for the highest good and in the form that is right for the patient. Also request protection and blessings for yourself and the patient in the name of your chosen higher power. Afterwards thank the source of your healing power.
Contact healing means the patient is present at the healing session. Some healers and patients prefer no physical skin contact except between relations and close friends.
Use your intuition and your heart as a guide and allow the crystal to find its own movements and pathways, one or two inches away from the body. Sometimes you may want to hold the crystal over a part of the body that is seemingly unrelated to the symptoms described – listen to the crystal.
You may move the crystal constantly or feel it suddenly pull down over a particular spot, perhaps drawing out a tangled knot of energy that rises as a strand of pale grey mist skywards, to be transformed into a sunbeam or starlight. There are several effective methods from which to choose.
Use a pair of crystals, one to draw out pain or remove blockages and one to infuse the system with healing light. You can use crystal palms (round flat stones you hold in your hand) or ordinary round tumbled stones. The following pairs are good combinations:
Clear crystal quartz and amethyst: These are good for all-purpose healing and routine cleansing and energizing.
Turquoise and rose quartz: These help an overloaded system or a person who is constantly under pressure.
Amber and blue coral or blue chalcedony: These are good for deep healing and for restoring natural immunity.
Purple fluorite and nephrite or jadeite: This is a good combination for healing over a long period, for chronic conditions or those that are difficult to diagnose and treat.
Red jasper and celestine or angelite: These are useful for balancing, strengthening and harmonizing body and mind.
Tiger’s eye and banded agate: Use to soothe and empower very nervous or emotional patients or those in crisis situations.
Blue lace agate and pink manganocalcite: This combination is good for healing the very young, the very old or people who are extremely ill or in intense pain.
♦ Hold the more active vibrant crystal (the first in the list above) in your power hand (the one you write with) and the other in your receptive hand. Establishing a rhythm, simultaneously move your power crystal clockwise and the receptive crystal anticlockwise over any pain or discomfort. Do this two inches away from the body.
Rose quartz can be used to send gentle healing to people, animals and places that are far away.
♦ Next, slowly spiral up and down the body, still moving the crystals harmoniously. You want to develop a mesmeric rhythm if possible. You may find that healing words emerge spontaneously.
♦ The crystals may stop over a chakra energy centre and move much faster as they balance or unblock it.
♦ Flow with the movement: when you find yourself slowing, the healing is complete.
Try this with a pointed crystal quartz and a pointed amethyst.
♦ If healing yourself, sit on the floor and hold the receptive crystal to the sole of the foot on the power side of your body (the same one as the hand you write with) and the power crystal point touching the other sole.
♦ Visualize warm, glowing, healing liquid light passing upwards through the power crystal and spiralling round your body, finding the natural psychic pathways and swirling round the chakras.
♦ You need do nothing, but if you wish, close your eyes and you will be rewarded by visions of the glowing channels within.
♦ See the power leaving via the receptive crystals and re-entering the body, transformed, as it passes through the power crystal. When the energies slow, healing is complete.
♦ You can create a healing circuit for other people by holding the crystals in your hands against the soles of their feet or, if they prefer, the centres of the palms of their hands.
Use a large crystal as a focus, a crystal or amethyst sphere, a geode or unpolished rose quartz or calcite in any shade.
♦ Work, if possible, by candlelight.
♦ You can send healing crystal light to people who are not present, to animals, war- or famine-torn places, the seas, the skies, the melting ice caps or to the whole planet.
♦ Work either alone, holding the crystal in your hands, or with a group of healers or friends who can pass the large crystal round a circle as each empowers it with special prayers or wishes.
♦ Name the person or place and say a prayer or a healing mantra (a continuous rhythmic chant) for healing into the crystal. Breathe in the light of the crystal, exhaling darkness.
♦ When you are filled with light, send the light as continuous out breaths to the subject. Meanwhile, keep repeating your chosen healing prayer or mantra in your mind.
♦ Leave the candle to burn through and restore energy to the crystal.
♦ You may wish to have a healing book in your special crystal place, to record names of anyone who is sick. You can then send them light through the crystal every week.
Named after the practice of consulting the divus or diva, a god or goddess, divination helps to determine the right course of action in a particular situation, or what the outcome of an event will be. It involves selecting, apparently at random, symbols such as tarot cards, Viking or Anglo Saxon rune staves or crystals, through which the divus or diva would make their will known. In modern divination we consult the god or goddess within, the wise part of ourselves that is not bound by the limitations of time. This part of ourselves can reach the universal store of knowledge, so that we are not bound by the facts as known to our conscious mind.
The selection of particular crystals or other symbols occurs through the process of psychokinesis, the ability of the mind to move matter, in this case our hand, to select one crystal rather than another so that it answers our question. Crystals are a very powerful form of divination because, not only do the colours and the individual crystal type have certain core meanings, but also when we hold the crystal we have selected unconsciously, information from it floods our minds. This knowledge is transmitted through our fingertips and in the form of words, sensations of heat or cold, feelings of reassurance or sudden doubt about a planned course of action as well as rich visual images in our mind.
For thousands of years, clear quartz crystal spheres have been used to reach the unconscious depths of personal and cosmic wisdom.
On see here there is a list of crystals that are suggested for divination. You can use as few as eleven crystals, one for each of the main colours: white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, grey and black.
♦ Choose crystals of similar size, shape and smoothness; round or oval tumbled stones about the size of a medium coin are ideal.
♦ You can add to the selection at any time and may aim initially to double your original set so you have a vibrant shade of each colour that would indicate a more immediate active response and a softer, more muted hue.
♦ You can use as many or few crystals as you wish, from eleven to two hundred or more, as the selection is made by your unconscious wisdom no matter how few stones you use. I have known people who needed a practical, down-to-earth approach to a problem pick only matt brown stones out of more than 150 crystals in my divinatory bag.
♦ Keep the crystals for divination in a drawstring bag (or place them in this bag prior to divination).
♦ You can read for yourself or others. Crystal divination is remarkably good for creating a psychic dialogue between questioner and reader, even if the questioner has never used crystals before.
♦ Ask a question or get your subject to do so. Place your power hand in the bag (or ask the questioner to make the selection) and choose three crystals, one at a time, that feel right. Do not look in the bag. Set them on the table.
♦ As you buy more crystals for divination, choose up to six for an important question.
♦ Hold each crystal in turn in the order that feels right, in your cupped hands.
♦ Close your eyes and allow impressions to form.
Choosing crystals from a bag is a way of allowing our unconscious mind to guide us.
If you are reading for someone else, ask that person to pick up each crystal first and say what it makes them feel, before handing it to you for interpretation.
♦ Use this intuitive method first. The meanings of colour and kind are just guidelines and will help you to give structure to the message.
♦ If the answer is not clear, tell a story, using the images you have seen from each crystal.
♦ You can also select a single crystal each morning to alert you to the mood of the day ahead and offer you the strengths you will need. Carry it as a talisman in a tiny purse.
You can also use a crystal pendulum for decision-making at work or at home. Alternatively, choose a favourite birthstone pendant or a crystal point that you hold between the thumb and first finger of your power hand.
♦ On a piece of paper, draw a circle and divide it into four, six or eight segments, according to the number of options. Alternatively, draw a square and make a grid of boxes.
♦ In each segment write down the different options you have. The decision could be about your career, a relationship or foods you suspect may be causing an allergy. It could even be possible holiday destinations or properties you have visited when seeking a new home. Shade in any left-over segments.
♦ Very slowly, move the pendulum over each option in turn, allowing images and words to form in your mind.
♦ Then pass the pendulum a second time over the options and this time it will pull down strongly over one of the options.
♦ If it does not respond to any option, leave the reading overnight and your dreams may suggest another avenue to add to your list.
Crystal pendulums are a quick but accurate way of making intuitive decisions.
Crystals amplify and transmit our innate psychic energies. They offer doorways to other dimensions and within their depths our minds can travel beyond the immediate material world with its rigid restraints. We can also empower crystals to hold prosperity, love or success energies that can be released when we need them in our daily lives.
Crystals are magical anywhere. However, if you create a special crystal place in your home for meditation, contemplation and healing work, it will increasingly become an oasis of calm and healing power that can restore your inner harmony after the most fraught day.
♦ You will need a small table with a cloth to serve as an altar, and comfortable seating – perhaps floor cushions if it is a low table.
♦ On the altar set white candles, an all-purpose incense such as sandalwood, lavender or rose, fresh seasonal flowers and a statue or picture of a favourite angel or deity.
♦ You can display large crystals, spheres, geodes, crystal point formations or clusters and wands and the unpolished pieces you keep for absent healing.
♦ Keep open your healing book (see here); read a name every night as well as your weekly ritual. Send blessings through a crystal.
♦ In the centre, keep a dish of your favourite crystals, through which you can run your fingers or create patterns with the crystals on the altar, the floor or in a special sand box (use a large tray and children’s sand).
♦ Make crystal grids, mandalas (regular circular patterns), labyrinths, medicine wheels or any formation that intuitively seems to bring power and healing. Touch each crystal in turn and send a blessing or healing to a person, animal or place.
♦ When you have the time, explore the energies of an individual crystal by setting the altar with its related incense, relevant candle colour, a dish of its herbs or oil and its flowers (see individual entries). Hold the crystal and allow impressions to come of its personal functions for you.
Each crystal has its strengths, for example as a money or luck bringer, and simply by carrying the crystal you absorb these powers.
♦ You can empower a crystal even more intensely for any purpose by drawing over it in the air a word or symbol for what you need, while stating the purpose aloud as a soft continuous mantra.
♦ Sprinkle a few grains of sea salt over your chosen crystal for the power of the earth, spiral it with smoke from its associated incense for the power of air, pass the crystal through the flame of its own coloured candle for the power of fire and shower it with drops of still mineral water for the power of water, at each stage repeating the mantra. Say: ‘So may it be, the power flies free as I count three. Three two one. Blessings come.’
You can add the empowered crystal to a charm bag, a tiny purse or drawstring bag containing symbols related to the wish – for example the crystal’s herbs, a gold coin for wealth, a tiny doll for fertility or a silver heart for love. Carry your charm bag until your desire is fulfilled.
If you were just to sit holding a crystal in candlelight, gazing into its depths, you would enter a light meditative state in which your innate psychic powers would spontaneously unfold. In the individual entries are listed the psychic properties each crystal best amplifies. The following are a few ways you could begin to use crystals if you are new to psychic work.
Scrying means perceiving images in a reflective surface, though in fact we often see them, at least initially, in our mind’s vision. See for scrying with a crystal ball.
♦ Gaze into a large polished crystal, preferably one that has inclusions, with reflected candlelight shining into it.
♦ Ask a question and, through half-closed eyes, allow images to form as crystal and light combine into magical shadowy forms.
♦ If you find this difficult, fill a bowl with water and gently drop crystals into it one at a time to create ripples. Surround the bowl with a ring of candles or set it in shimmering sunlight or full moonlight.
For past-life exploration, identify a doorway in a large cloudy crystal, in candlelight or intense sun-or moonlight.
Scrying with crystals in water is one of the most ancient forms of divination.
Making crystalline formations, mandalas and medicine wheels captures the essence of ancient powers.
♦ Breathe in the crystalline light all round you so that you are within the crystal and can walk through the doorway.
♦ You may find yourself in a wood, beside a river. Walk along the path, which is strewn with crystals. You may see scenes from the past and a person with whom you identify, that will answer some present question. You can return to the everyday world by counting slowly down from ten to nought.
♦ For an out-of-body experience (astral travel), surround a large crystal with candles and gradually blow them out one by one while picturing the crystal just as bright in your mind’s vision, but getting larger and larger and steps of crystal rising up one side.
When it is physically dark and all the candles are extinguished, in your mind climb the crystal steps higher and higher and feel feather wings sprouting. At the top you can fly or float towards the stars, dive deep into the clear ocean below or follow another crystal staircase inside a huge tree to a mythical land with talking animals and wise guides.
Whichever route you choose, you can again return by counting slowly from ten to nought.
Cleansing and empowering are two aspects of the same process. As you work with your crystals, whether for healing, magical or protective functions, they do naturally become depleted of energy and absorb negativity as people talk of their sorrows or pain, which then flows from the person into the crystal.
Though some recently discovered crystals do not seem to need cleansing or charging, the ritual is a good way of ensuring that any negativity that has penetrated our aura is dissipated (see here for more general crystal psychic protection).
♦ Cleanse any crystal that is new to you, to remove the impressions of those who have mined, handled and sold it, even though these energies may not be negative. You can then endow the crystal with your personal power and that of the earth, seas and skies.
♦ If a crystal appears dull or feels heavy, it probably needs restoring and maybe resting for a while if you use it every day. Have two or three of your favourite kinds of crystal so that you do not exhaust them.
♦ Cleanse and recharge your healing and divinatory crystals once a week or after particularly intense or emotional work. Home and workplace crystals, especially ones that have to protect against technological pollution or that hold at bay negative earth energies, will also rapidly become depleted.
♦ You can cleanse more than one crystal by placing them in a circle and working over or round the crystal circle.
In each individual crystal entry is listed the specific ways that you can charge the crystal according to its unique qualities. However, you can also use any of the following methods, unless, for example, it is suggested you should not use sunlight for a specific crystal because it may crack or fade.
♦ Hold a clear-crystal pendulum over the crystal (very delicate shades are best cleansed with an amethyst or rose-quartz pendulum).
♦ Pass the pendulum over the crystal nine times with slow anticlockwise circles to remove negativity.
♦ Dip the pendulum into a bowl of cold water nine times and shake it dry.
Fragrant incense will restore the energies of a crystal that has been used for healing.
♦ Finally, move the pendulum nine times clockwise over the crystal to empower it.
♦ Add three pinches of salt to a small bowl of still mineral water and stir clockwise with a clear, pointed crystal.
♦ Sprinkle three circles of the salt water round the crystal, moving outwards as you sprinkle. As you do so, ask the blessing of a deity, angel or the benign light of the universe to remove all darkness from the crystal and infuse it with healing light.
♦ Visit a place where earth energies are strong: a standing stone, a stone circle, a long barrow, burial mound or fairy hill, an old stone medicine wheel or a sacred rock. If possible, go immediately after dawn.
♦ Set your crystal or crystals on top of a flat stone, or at its foot if it is too tall or pointed.
♦ Leave the crystals for at least thirty minutes so that the negative energies can flow into the earth and power can rise through the stones.
This is especially good for a circle of crystals.
♦ Use either a sage or cedar smudge stick (a tied bundle of dried herbs) or large, broad-based incense sticks in cedar, sage or pine.
♦ Light the smudge or incense and, before you begin, face the four directions, starting with the east, then point your smudge downwards to the earth and upwards to the sky. Ask at each direction that the guardian of the east, south, west and north will purify and empower your crystals. Then ask the same of the earth mother and finally the sky father.
♦ Spiral the smudge alternately upwards and downwards, combining anticlockwise and clockwise smoke rings. Repeat this mantra as you work: ‘Above, around, to the ground, peace surround.’
♦ Alternatively, circle the crystal in the smoke.
♦ Leave the crystal in sunlight and moonlight for a twenty-four-hour period or in a rainstorm for just two or three minutes. The day of the full moon is good because the moon rises around the time the sun sets and so you will have a continuous flow of energies.
Running water will empower a crystal by releasing its innate healing energy.
♦ Put the crystal in a pot of herbs associated with general healing, for example lavender, sage or rosemary. Leave it for a day and wash off any soil with running water.
♦ Leave the crystal in a stream for an hour.
♦ Wrap the crystal you have used for healing with a large unpolished piece of amethyst in dark silk. Leave the crystals in a closed drawer to rest and recharge.
♦ Use one teaspoon of whichever dried herb is appropriate for three cups of water.
♦ If you are using fresh herbs, use three teaspoons of the herb.
♦ Pour boiling water over the herbs in a pot and leave the infusion to cool.
♦ Strain the infusion into a ceramic or glass dish. Discard the herbs.
♦ Add your healing crystals to the infusion and leave them for twelve hours.
♦ Hold them under running water.
♦ For delicate crystals, substitute dried lavender heads, chamomile flowers or rose petals in the infusion and make a circle of the sprinkled infusion round the crystals, first in an anticlockwise direction and then clockwise.
Crystals have been used for thousands of years in every culture to bring power, harmony and protection to people and places. In the modern fast-moving world, our personal crystals create a small oasis of calm at home and work. They accumulate energies upon which we can draw when we are becoming overstressed or need to focus our attention on an urgent task and temporarily shut out distractions.
Even a small dish of crystals will subtly improve the atmosphere in a room at home or in the workplace. It will maintain a stable, positive mood in spite of fluctuating emotions or sudden changes of focus.
♦ Have a dish of gentle-coloured crystals in places where there are frequent personality clashes, a mixture of strong egos or a frantic or pressurized atmosphere.
♦ Use vibrant stones to enhance concentration and enthusiasm and to encourage positive communication and exchange of ideas.
♦ Have a small dish of your favourite crystals on your desk or workbench, so that when you are stressed or need a sudden infusion of energy you can close your eyes and intuitively pick one for the quality you most need.
♦ Keep money-attracting crystals, such as jade, peridot and tiger’s eye, in your purse, with credit cards at home, or near your tools of trade or account books at work.
♦ Make restorative crystalline waters by soaking individual crystals for eight hours in small bottles or jars to keep in your fridge. You can take the bottle of needed crystalline strength to splash on your pulse points at work or use them to make drinks for family members and visitors.
♦ Blue lace agate water softens a critical tongue, labradorite water will encourage compromise, while orange carnelian will fill you with confidence. Those seeking love can drink rose quartz water or add nine rose quartz crystals to a pre-date bath.
♦ Carry sparkling crystal quartz, carnelian or citrine when you want to be noticed, whether socially or in a work situation.
Crystalline pyramids create an area of stillness and calm. They also enhance self-healing abilities and awaken our psychic powers.
Amber, malachite and sodalite (in the vase) are especially helpful in a workplace to absorb harmful influences.
All crystals have protective properties, but over the millennia, in cultures from Ancient Babylon to the Orient, the same crystals have assumed importance as guardians of people, homes and places of work. They include amber, amethyst, bloodstone, brown and red jasper, carnelian, dark banded agates, garnet, jade, jet, lapis lazuli, malachite, rose quartz, sodalite, tiger’s eye, topaz and turquoise.
If you carry out psychic or healing work, you need ongoing extra crystalline protection. Set protective crystals at the four corners of your healing room or the table where you give readings. Place another crystal on either side of the entrance to your crystal place to filter out negativity from the everyday world. Make sure you cleanse them frequently.
Crystals can shield us from spite at work, and from difficult relationships. They can also protect us from neighbours who drain our energies and from those who ill-wish us out of envy.
♦ Smoky quartz buried at the corners of your home (in plant pots if necessary) will keep all within and your possessions safe from harm.
♦ Place an amethyst or obsidian crystal point, sharp end outwards, in your workspace to deflect gossiping or an over-critical boss.
♦ Keep rose quartz or amethyst by the phone and computer at home and work to soften confrontational calls or emails.
♦ Green and black malachite will help to absorb the headache-inducing rays of computers and high-tech equipment.
Hide turquoise or a pink kunzite (a recently discovered protective stone) in the glove box of a car or in your luggage to guard you against attack, accident and road rage. Sodalite is a protective crystal for air travel. Carry a smoky quartz, misty obsidian or labradorite if you must travel alone late at night or are in a potentially dangerous crowded area. Breathe in the misty energy and exhale your fear as dull-red light to act as a shield and lower your profile so you will be less visible to hostility.
Sometimes our homes and workplaces are built on land where there are very strong earth energies that are not meant for dwellings and we can feel constantly exhausted or even become ill as the strong psychic currents permeate our aura. Negative energies can also be caused by major manmade constructions, such as a main road. Electricity pylons, mobile-phone masts and mine workings may cause negative energies, as can unhappy or evil events, even if they occurred years ago.
Set dishes (or single, larger stones) of amber, amethyst, brown jasper and dark banded agate, obsidian and tiger’s eye in the centre of any room that feels dark or unfriendly. These crystals will also help a room where quarrels and bickering seem to break out for no reason.
Children have an instinctive understanding of crystals and, because they are so spiritual and psychically open, are very receptive to crystal healing. Indeed, a child will not only instinctively select the correct crystal for a particular ill, but will move the crystal quite naturally over the afflicted area, drawing out pain and infusing healing light in a way envied by the most experienced adult healer.
It is never too early to introduce a child to crystals. Indeed, some women intuitively select a crystal for a child soon after conception. They place this crystal over the womb when communicating with the foetus, hold the crystal during labour and then hang it over the infant’s crib for protection in the early hours and days of life. This birth crystal becomes the first of a child’s personal crystal collection and can be added to by relations and friends at the naming ceremony, birthdays and other landmarks in the child’s life. When the adult child leaves home, the crystals provide a link with the love of the family.
However, you can begin a child’s crystal collection at any time in his or her life, or start one for a relation’s child or a grandchild. Buy a zodiacal birthstone as a very special gift. It can be worn or carried by the child on significant occasions. Often, the crystal selected before birth reflects the child’s inner nature and potential while the official birthstone represents their persona to the world. As soon as a child is old enough not to swallow or chew crystals, they can keep them in a drawstring bag and will often spontaneously begin healing teddy bears, dolls and willing adults.
Rose quartz is a perfect stone for children and animals because it gently brings calm and counteracts the frantic pace of the modern world.
The soothing energy of blue lace agate is excellent for healing children.
Amethyst, coral, blue lace agate, jade and rose quartz are excellent all-purpose healers for children. Amethyst and rose quartz relieve nightmares and head pains, while rose quartz aids earache, colic and stomach pains. Coral is beneficial for teething pains and protects against falls. Jade is useful for all fevers, growing pains and fears of all kinds. Blue lace agate soothes restless children and is useful when a child is learning to walk.
Animals are also very responsive to crystal healing. Owners often have great success healing their pets with crystals because of the strong bond of love and trust between them, which amplifies the crystal’s healing powers.
♦ A healthy animal can benefit from drinking water in which jade has been soaked every day; this will maintain vitality, especially in an older animal. Amethyst water deters fleas and other parasites.
♦ Moss agate or brown-banded agate placed under a pet bed will calm hyperactive, aggressive or very nervous animals. It is especially useful for pets from a rescue centre.
♦ Earth stones, such as brown and banded agates, golden-brown rutilated quartz and brown jasper, will infuse animals with gentle, healing earth energies. They are useful for chronically ill or very old animals or those who are recovering from an operation or intensive treatment.
♦ Cat’s eye is good for all cat healing, and dalmatian jasper is excellent for dogs. Hawk’s eye (blue tiger’s eye) benefits birds, while aquamarine or blue coral aids fish. Tiger’s eye or leopardskin jasper assists exotic pets, and both are good for sending healing to wild creatures that are under threat of extinction.
♦ For thousands of years, turquoise has offered animals protection against being stolen, straying or being hurt in accidents or by animal haters. It can be attached to a horse’s mane or bridle, an animal collar, the mirror in a birdcage or the back of a small animal hutch.
Because crystals are formed in the earth, moulded from volcanic fire and affected by wind and water, even the smallest crystal has the power to heal the environment. When we hold any crystals and speak a prayer of empowerment, we release healing medicine from the earth mother herself. We can direct this energy to heal polluted land, the seas or atmosphere, or to assist any of the species endangered by human carelessness.
Green and brown crystals are good for the land and the forests and their creatures. Blue and turquoise crystals support the air and seas, birds and sea creatures of all kinds. Keep a small dish of these environmental crystals on your altar and, once a week, hold one crystal. Focus on a particular place under threat that you have seen on the news or a local issue that needs extra input. Speak to the earth mother or your special angel and ask that the forces within the crystal and of the earth will restore the balance.
Crystals form a focus for rituals to bring together the powers of the elements: earth, air, fire and water. The rose quartz on this altar will attract love and friendship and help to resolve quarrels.
Crystal spheres are traditionally used to direct healing sunlight, to take away pain and enhance the body’s innate healing ability.
To assist damaged land, place a healing crystal at each of the corners of a photograph of the polluted place, of belching smoky chimneys or of waste-filled seas. Surround the picture with a circle of small candles of the same colour as the crystals and, as you light each one, speak a blessing or wish for healing. Leave the candlelight to shine on the crystals and picture until the candles are burned through (do not leave candles unattended).
To heal wasteland, especially urban waste, bury moss agate and jade crystals in the earth, asking that life may return and healing follow. Bury tree agate close to saplings in any areas where there is reforestation or where forests have been ripped down to make way for roads. Encircle a photograph of a rainforest with tree agates and waft the smoke of cedar or pine smudge or incense over the image to regenerate the lungs of the earth.
To help protect the oceans, on the night of the full moon drop three orbicular jasper, aquamarine or blue coral crystals, one after the other, into a bowl of salt water. As you do so, make a wish for each crystal to cleanse the seas and protect seals, dolphins, whales and other endangered species. Or, cast three blue-glass nuggets one after the other into the sea at high tide, calling your wishes to the waves.
