Crystal Healing Layouts
What’s a crystal healing layout? Simply put, it’s a specific placement of crystals on the body to effect healing. This is what many crystal healers do (though not all) when you go to see one professionally for a healing session. The beauty of this work is that you can do it by yourself, in the comfort of your own home, and for free once you’ve bought your crystals. The layouts I’ll be sharing with you are based on the Hindu seven-chakra system, so we need to have a crash course on that first.
THE CHAKRA SYSTEM
The word chakra comes from Sanskrit, meaning “spinning wheel of light.” Chakras are major energy centers, coinciding with major nerve centers in the body. They spiral outward into the four subtle bodies of the aura (the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual layers of the aura).
When a chakra is not functioning properly, it can trigger physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual health issues. There are hundreds of chakras in our body, but this system is based on the seven main chakras: the root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye, and crown. There are many different philosophies and systems based on the chakras, but in crystal healing I have found working with these seven to be the most effective.
ROOT CHAKRA
The root chakra is red and is located at the base of the spine. It is the foundation of the physical body. It stimulates physical activity, exercise, action, and vitality; assists us in keeping grounded and present; and influences our immune system, basic instincts, endurance, and fight-or-flight reactions. This chakra manages the body’s survival needs, including food, shelter, and protection. Family and tribal (i.e., societal and cultural) relationships influence the well-being of this chakra. It is relevant to achievements in the material world, permanence, strength of character, patience, endurance, and safety.
If you’re having trouble making ends meet; always feel spaced-out, tired, and sick; have fear or control issues; or experienced childhood trauma, you may have an imbalance in the root chakra.
In general, crystals that are black, gray, brown, and red resonate with the root chakra.
The sacral chakra is orange and is located below the belly button. The sacral chakra is the foundation of the emotional body and is the source of creativity, emotions, and pleasure. It governs our ability to feel and manage our emotions and experience sensations. The sacral chakra influences our sexuality and sensuality, intimacy, and ability to be social with other people. It physically influences the lower abdomen, bladder, kidneys, digestion, reproduction, and virility.
If you find that you are often moody, seek to be alone, or are overly needy of other people; if you have eating, drug, alcohol, or sexual issues; or if you’re having trouble conceiving a child, you may have a sacral chakra imbalance.
In general, crystals that are red, orange, and yellow resonate with the sacral chakra.
The solar plexus chakra is yellow and is located just below the rib cage. It is the foundation of the mental body. It enables us to sense vibrations and essences from people, places, and things. It’s our personal power center, where our sense of identity and confidence, our will, our ambition, our ability to manifest and prosper, and our personal drive are located. It physically influences muscles, the stomach, digestion, the pancreas, the liver, the gallbladder, metabolism, the immune system, the kidneys, and the nervous system.
If you feel apathetic, unable to improve your life or prosper; if you’re prone to angry outbursts, are easily dominated, or have ulcers or digestive issues, you may have a solar plexus chakra imbalance.
In general, crystals that are orange, yellow, or gold resonate with the solar plexus chakra.
The heart chakra is green and is situated in the center of the chest, just slightly above the heart. While the lower three chakras relate to personal energy and the physical self, and the higher three chakras relate to the spiritual self, the heart chakra bridges the two and forms a connection between our physical and our spiritual experiences. It is all about love—experiencing it, feeling it, sharing it—and it governs forgiveness, compassion, empathy, trust, and equilibrium. The heart chakra helps us to get in touch with nature and connects us to the plant and animal world. This chakra physically influences the lungs, the thymus, circulation, and the endocrine and immune systems.
If you’ve experienced a lot of heartbreak; if you’re mourning, have intimacy issues, are frequently sick with respiratory or heart-related illnesses; or if you are depressed, you may have a heart chakra imbalance.
In general, crystals that are pink, red, and green resonate with the heart chakra.
Situated in the center of the throat, the throat chakra is light blue and influences communication, artistic expression, authenticity, self-awareness, honesty, and clairaudience (the psychic ability of hearing spirits). Physically, it influences the mouth, the teeth, the throat, the thyroid gland, and the immune system. When it is balanced, it allows for free communication, an ease in articulating ideas, and a grounded, present ability and willingness to listen, both to ourselves and to others. We are able to lovingly honor our boundaries when the throat chakra is in balance. It also helps us while we are meditating to connect with our higher guidance.
If you’re afraid to speak up for yourself, you repress your feelings, you block your creative impulses, you ignore your intuition, or you experience frequent throat illnesses, you may have a throat chakra imbalance.
In general, blue-green and light blue crystals resonate with the throat chakra.
The third eye chakra is indigo and is found in the middle of the forehead. It is the foundation of our psychic and cognitive (thinking) abilities. It enables us to listen to and honor our intuition and imagination; to learn, visualize, focus, and remember; and it also helps us determine the difference between fantasy and reality. This chakra physically influences the eyes, vision, the nose, the central nervous system, the brain, the pineal gland, and the pituitary gland.
If you frequently experience brain fog, feel that your intuition is blocked, have trouble remembering things, or struggle with anxiety or a mental disorder, you may have a third eye chakra imbalance.
In general, crystals that are clear, dark blue, or purple resonate with the third eye chakra.
The crown chakra is violet and is situated on the top of the head. It is the foundation of our spiritual body and links us to higher guidance, our own wisdom, memory, spirituality, and the Divine. It influences our ability to have faith, our religious or spiritual beliefs, our philosophy, our perspective, our idealism, and our archetypal knowledge. It is our connection with the Universe/God/Goddess/Spirit. This chakra physically influences the cerebral cortex, the cerebrum, the central nervous system, the pineal gland, the pituitary gland, and hormones related to them.
If you have trouble making up your mind, are easily led or influenced by other people or belief systems, ignore your own spiritual needs, have memory problems, or have lost faith, you may have a crown chakra imbalance.
In general, white, clear, lavender, or gold crystals resonate with the crown chakra.
BEGINNER’S LAYOUT
With crystal layouts, it’s always best to start out small and easy, and test out how they feel or affect you before moving on to bigger crystals or more involved work. Why? So you can familiarize yourself with crystal energy and you can have a benchmark to compare the effects and feelings of certain crystals when working with them. I have seen some intensely elaborate and terrifying crystal layouts in books and at workshops. It’s been my experience that keeping it simple and straightforward is usually best.
Practicing crystal layouts on myself was actually how I got started in crystal healing and the only real training I’ve ever had. Day after day, even if I only had 5 or 10 minutes, I’d lay some crystals out on my seven chakras, lie back and relax, and let the energy flow. After that I’d make notes of what I used, how I felt, and the progress I was witnessing in certain areas of my life.
The truth was, too, that I needed a lot of healing and help at that time. I was still building back up from an emotional and financial rock bottom; I was still in a lot of pain, racked with doubt and anger; and I didn’t have the money to see a therapist or work much with a spiritual healer. My crystals became my salvation, my teachers, my healers, a place where I could always go and receive healing energy. Not only did they get me through that hard time, but I progressed exponentially as a healer, a spiritualist, a mystic, and a businessperson as a result of my work with them.
My third eye opened, my heart softened, I learned and absorbed new information rapidly, my intuitive guidance became clearer, my ability to channel energy became stronger, and my tiny little healing practice began to grow and grow. I was far from healed and I was not yet prospering, but in a few short months, I was light-years away from where I had been before.
The first layout I ever started working with is still a favorite of mine to this day. I call it a beginner’s, or basic, layout. I still use this one when I need a restorative energy session. It helps to clear out stagnant energy, restore balance, and increase vitality and overall sense of well-being. It’s great at the end of a long, stressful day or week, and it’s the foundation layout on which the rest of the layouts in this section are based. (See Beginner’s Layout diagram and chart.)
LAYOUTS
On the following pages you will find a variety of different crystal layouts. Make sure that your crystals have been cleared and that they’re charged before doing a layout. I find it easiest to put my crystals on a tray and then place the tray beside me where I’m lying down so that I can access them easily without having to sit up. Always place crystals in ascending order (starting with the root chakra and working your way up) and then remove them in descending order (from the crown chakra down) in order to remain grounded.
Depending on the layout, some chakras will require the placement of more than one crystal. As a general rule of thumb, you can always go slightly larger in size with crystals on the root, sacral, solar plexus, and heart chakras because their energy is more dense and physical in nature. The three upper chakras (throat, third eye, and crown) are more sensitive and need less crystal energy for positive effects. On a practical note, you have less surface space to work with when you’re placing crystals on the three upper chakras. I also recommend having a blanket nearby in case you get cold during your session, and a timer close at hand.
| CHAKRA | CRYSTAL |
| Root Chakra | Red Jasper |
| Sacral Chakra | Carnelian |
| Solar Plexus Chakra | Tiger Eye |
| Heart Chakra | Rose Quartz |
| Throat Chakra | Blue Lace Agate |
| Third Eye Chakra | Amethyst |
| Crown Chakra | Moonstone |
Crystal therapy sessions normally run anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes. I don’t recommend going longer than an hour because there’s only so much energy your body can take in a single session. If you make the session too short, you won’t benefit as much from the layout. After your session, drink plenty of water and you can eat something light or go for a leisurely walk, but avoid vigorous activity, alcoholic consumption, or high sugar intake for at least one hour after your session.
Enjoy!