The Science
and the Superstition
How Crystals Work
For centuries, people have used crystals for both practical purposes—from flint fire starters to butane lighters—as well as for metaphysical endeavors like healing, meditation, and psychic communication. And while our civilization has advanced, our quest for spiritual fulfillment is as primal as ever.
How can crystals be so much a part of our ordinary lives and still rise to the level of the extraordinary? How can something we routinely take for granted also make it possible for us to reach new levels of consciousness? How do crystals really work?
To understand the metaphysics behind the physics, it doesn’t hurt to take a quick survey of the science and the symbolism associated with crystals.
Scientific Properties
Crystals have several consistent and predictable scientific properties, and most people who use them for spiritual work believe those scientific properties have a symbolic counterpart in the metaphysical universe, too.
• Crystals are piezoelectric. In other words, when crystals are squeezed, they generate electricity, and when electricity passes through them, they change shape.
• Crystals are also pyroelectric, which means they can produce electricity as a result of temperature changes.
• And crystals have resonance, which means that they will vibrate in response to other frequencies in their area.
In the last hundred years or so, crystals have played a lead role in the development of entertainment and communication technology. Because crystals can change electrical vibrations into sound waves and broadcast signals, they were an integral component of early sound recordings, as well as radio and television broadcasting. And because crystals vibrate at a precise rate, they have also become an essential tool for accurately marking the passage of time—not only in quartz clocks and watches, as you might expect, but also in radio transmitters, radio receivers, and computers.
In fact, the scientific properties of crystals were instrumental in the development of today’s high-tech devices like sonar, laser beams, and atomic microscopes. It’s no coincidence that quartz crystals are made up of silicon dioxide, and the world’s most famous computer hub is known as Silicon Valley.
All told, crystals can perform a number of functions—in both the physical and the spiritual world.
• Crystals can receive energy.
• Crystals can store energy.
• Crystals can release energy.
• Crystals can reflect, refract, and magnify energy.
• Crystals can transform energy.
• Crystals can balance and harmonize energy.
• Crystals can organize energy.
• Crystals can tune in to energy from other sources.
• Crystals can make it possible for us to observe and perceive that energy.
• Crystals can amplify, focus, and redirect energy.
• Crystals can be used as communication devices because their energy patterns transmit signals.
• Crystals can be used to record the passage of time and events.
There is practically no end to the scientific properties and uses of crystals.
To clearly understand some of a crystal’s scientific properties—and their corresponding metaphysical uses—picture an old-fashioned land-line telephone. When you talk, the sound of your voice vibrates a crystal. That vibration generates an electrical pattern in the crystal. In essence, sound is converted to electricity. At the other end of the line, the electrical pattern of your voice is received by another crystal, which generates a replica of the sound of your voice.
That’s basically how radio and traditional television signals are transmitted through the air, too. A crystal can generate signals at one location, and then transmit them to other crystals in other receiving stations.
You can literally put an electrical pattern into a crystal. You can program crystals to receive information, convert it to electricity, transmit that electricity, and duplicate that information in another location. Whatever you put in, you get back out.
It might make you wonder: if you can program a crystal to help you talk to your brother in Boise, why couldn’t you program a crystal to communicate with your grandmother in the afterworld? If crystals can do so much for science and technology, why couldn’t they be equally effective in the metaphysical world?
Quantum Physics
While some scientists will immediately disparage metaphysical use of crystals as pseudoscience, the two worldviews might not be as far apart as you think. In fact, both physics and metaphysics could fit comfortably under the umbrella of quantum physics.
Think of it this way: on one hand, we have metaphysics. For thousands of years, spiritualists, mystics, and seekers have taught that our waking world was only an illusion, while reality was somewhere else—somewhere far apart from the hustle and bustle of physical existence. The world we know, they say, is merely a shadow or reflection of the real world. Even today, the idea that spiritual reality is somehow removed from material reality is a mainstay of many metaphysical systems.
On the other hand, we have modern science. In 1514, Nicolaus Copernicus put the sun—and not Earth—at the center of the universe. Before long, science replaced superstition, and Western thinkers started to base all of their studies on the assumption that the natural world is a completely logical and objective place. In our world of Newtonian physics and Darwinian evolution, life unfolds, one event after another, in an inescapably linear progression of cause and effect. Every occurrence—even those we can’t explain—somehow conforms to the laws of nature.
Now, through the study of quantum physics, it seems that both schools of thought could be correct; even according to the laws of nature, a subjective and an objective world could coexist.
Crystals offer a window into that dual reality.
While crystals seem solid, modern physicists have demonstrated that physical objects consist of energy, not matter. Crystals are highly structured units of energy. On a quantum level, crystals, like everything else, are in constant motion, dancing to the vibrations of the universe.
The laws of nature are imprinted in the patterns and structure of a crystal. Crystals are made of elements. Each element always has the same fixed number of protons and electrons. The way those elements are organized at a molecular and atomic level determines what shape and form each crystal will take. In other words, structure at the quantum level determines which reality will appear.
The structure of a crystal also affects its ability to send and receive energy in the form of electrons and protons, or electromagnetic waves. Unfortunately, that has proven to be something of a puzzle for modern science, because when physicists start to study crystals on a quantum level, some odd developments start to occur.
For one thing, scientists have found that the signal between two crystals travels at the speed of light. While the speed of light is fast, it’s not instantaneous. In theory, scientists should be able to pinpoint the location of electrons and protons as they move from one crystal to another.
In practice, however, electrons and protons at the quantum level seem to travel faster than the speed of light. They don’t even travel in the sense that scientists expect. Instead, they embody a certain timelessness, and they seem to be everywhere at once.
That means that sometimes there is no set starting point for the transmission of energy—and there’s no middle or end point, either. When scientists study the communication between two crystals, the only thing they can establish is that there is some exchange of energy between the two. At that point, scientists can be hard-pressed to discern the difference between the transmitter crystal and the receiver.
Logically, that doesn’t make sense—especially if you’re used to thinking in terms of linear time, with a beginning, a middle, and an end to a transmission. The problem is compounded by the fact that the receiver seems to affect the transmitter, even before communication begins.
Ultimately, that’s the real problem. Apparently, time is not linear—at least, not on a quantum level. Instead, time as we know it is hardly a physical property at all. Some might even conclude that time is simply a trick of the mind.
It’s a good trick; our understanding of time helps us make sense of the world. Our ideas about time help us recognize cause and effect, and make it possible for us to single out connections and study their patterns. Unfortunately, our awareness of time might also keep us from comprehending the depth and scope of the universe as a whole.
According to quantum physics, while we think we’re watching reality unfold, we are actually observing just one version of reality—a series of snapshots, really—isolated from an infinite number of other possibilities that continue to run their course in the rest of the universe.
It’s true that two crystals that send and receive energy are connected in a linear structure. One crystal really does send information while another receives it. But that one connection might not be the only connection between the two. According to quantum theory, there are countless connections between those crystals and between everything else in the universe. Those countless connections cross and crisscross as they spiral and weave across the universe. While they affect the reality we can see, we simply can’t observe them without isolating them, too.
Ultimately, the study of quantum physics might do more than simply explain how crystals can send and receive information in the physical world. If time really is only a matter of perspective and all things are connected on a subatomic level, then quantum physics might also explain how psychic phenomena fits into the big picture. Quantum physics could explain how crystals can store or reflect metaphysical information like thoughts, feelings, and memories—just what you might expect to see when you gaze into a crystal ball—and quantum physics could explain how related fields like astrology, tarot, and runes work, too.
Structural Integrity
You don’t have to master electronic engineering or quantum physics to see how crystals might have an effect on humans. You only need to look down at your arms and legs.
People have a lot in common with crystals. You could even say that human beings are walking, talking, crystal radio receivers and transmitters, attuned not only to each other, but also to the energy of the physical world around us.
While crystals are composed of atoms, linked together in a perfectly symmetrical, spiraling design, we humans have a crystalline structure of our own. From the spiraling double helix of our DNA to the highly organized, symmetrical design of our bones, muscles, and skin, we might actually be thought of as living, breathing crystals.
We even share two essential components with crystals: silicon and oxygen, the two most common components of the earth’s crust. Our DNA is shaped like a spiral lattice, like a crystal. And because we are made up of atoms, which are mostly space and wave particles, we are really vibrating waves of light and energy.
Just like crystals, our bodies have the ability to gather, store, and release energy. We can also reflect, refract, and magnify that energy. We can balance and harmonize energy within ourselves. We can tune in to energy from other sources; amplify, focus, and redirect that energy; and we can achieve remarkable transformations, even if we don’t always act in predictable, scientific ways.
The Power of Intention
You might not feel like it when you’re stuck in a traffic jam or when your neighbors start their lawn mower at 7 a.m., but we are all spiritual beings in physical form. Crystals might work simply because they remind us of our unique place in the universe and because they help us balance the spiritual and material realms of our existence.
Crystals may be the ultimate physical beings. They are more structured, more systematic, and more logically organized than practically any other object in the natural world. And yet, they seem to reflect a spiritual existence. They literally look like spirit in physical form. When you hold a crystal, it’s not hard to imagine that the light and energy of the heavens has somehow materialized in the palm of your hand.
Crystals give form to our imagination. They reflect the shape of our own thoughts, and they remind us that physical existence can be beautiful.
On a very fundamental level, a crystal can be a physical manifestation of your most heartfelt hopes, dreams, and wishes, and a crystal can serve as a tangible reminder of your goals and highest ideals.
The Elemental Array
The ancient Greeks believed that the world was composed of four elements: earth, water, air, and fire. They found those elements everywhere they looked—in the natural world, the philosophical world, and in their own physical and spiritual lives.
Since the ancient Greeks first developed their worldview, metaphysical thinkers have come to associate the four elements with the four aspects of human life: the fiery passion of spiritual concerns, the fluid, watery world of emotional affairs, the airy atmospheric awareness of intellectual life, and the earthly realities of physical existence.
Crystals embody all four elements at once. They are born of earth and fire, but their beauty can only surface when they are exposed to air and they begin to reflect and transform the light around them. And, as you know, their very name reflects their connection to water: crystallos is Greek for “frozen.”
Sacred Geometry
For some people, crystals seem to work because they serve as a tangible reminder that the universe is an orderly place, designed and run by an intelligent creator.
Euclid, the ancient Greek mathematician now considered to be the father of geometry, once wrote, “The laws of nature are but the mathematical thoughts of God.”
Crystals always grow according to an orderly, systematic design. In fact, all of nature follows strict mathematical formulas. Once scientists and philosophers follow those formulas to their ultimate conclusions, they find themselves in the realm of sacred geometry—a branch of thought in which mathematics starts to look like the language of God. Crystals have long served as evidence of sacred geometry, and they also serve as models for higher, more refined discoveries.
Long ago, in ancient Greece, an entire school of learning was once devoted to studying and understanding five simple shapes: the Platonic Solids. Today, those forms still stand unparalleled as models for advanced thought.
At first glance, the Platonic Solids seem plain, even ordinary. That’s probably because we see them everywhere, in nature and in man-made objects alike. When it comes right down to it, the Platonic Solids are all just simple triangles and squares—but each one is a clue in understanding the natural world. Each one, coincidentally enough, also happens to show up in the physical structure of crystals.
• The tetrahedron, or triangular pyramid, has four sides. Each side is a perfect equilateral triangle.
• The hexahedron, or cube, has six sides. Each side is a perfect square.
• The octahedron has eight sides. Each side is a perfect equilateral triangle.
• The dodecahedron has twelve sides. Each side is a perfect five-sided pentagon.
• The icosahedron has twenty sides. Each side is a perfect equilateral triangle.
Geometrically speaking, the five Platonic Solids are intriguing to look at—and fun to think about.
• Each one has the same shape on all of its sides.
• Each side is exactly the same length.
• Every angle on a facet is identical.
• Every Platonic Solid will fit perfectly inside a sphere, and their outside corners will all touch the edges of the sphere.
The ancient Greeks were fascinated by the Platonic Solids. They even speculated that the five Platonic Solids constituted the fundamental shapes of the physical universe. What’s more, they determined that the Platonic solids symbolized earth, water, fire, air, and spirit—the building blocks not only of the world, but also of human experience.
Symbolism, Synchronicity,
and the Collective Unconscious
Crystals have been used for so many years, by so many people, that there is quite a body of history, legendary associations, and symbolism associated with most crystals.
Everyone knows, for example, that diamonds symbolize everlasting love. Red rubies and garnets symbolize passion. For centuries, sailors and travelers have carried ocean-blue aquamarines to ensure safe and speedy voyages.
It may be that when you tap into the power of crystals, you also tap into the power of the myths and legends associated with them.
You don’t even need to be conscious of those myths and legends to feel their effect in your life. If you believe in synchronicity, Carl Jung’s theory of meaningful coincidence, you might find yourself working with just the right crystal at just the right time, without being aware of its symbolic significance and meaning.
Life is filled with surprising twists and turns of fate—you might think of a long-lost friend, for example, only to meet him on the street the next day. You might get a craving for roast beef, and then discover that it’s the dinner special at your favorite restaurant. Your flight might get cancelled at the last minute, but on the next plane out you find yourself seated next to the woman who will someday become your wife.
Famed psychiatrist Carl Jung developed the theory of synchronicity to explain all of those meaningful coincidences. Jung believed that some chance encounters—like finding the right crystal at the right time—aren’t actually chance at all. Instead, he argued, they are the sign of a higher power at work and an intelligent design in the universe.
Jung suggested that we all are a part of that design, with the ability to tap into the collective unconscious for information and guidance in our daily lives. The collective unconscious, he explained, is the bond of shared emotion and understanding that unites all people on a psychic level. It also serves as the well of shared myth, history, and legendary associations that helps us comprehend the universe, both as individuals and as members of society.
If that’s the case, you already have access to the myths and legends associated with each type of crystal. But if you want to access them even faster, you can also turn to the listings in this book.
The Magic of the Unseen World: Nature Spirits
One charming explanation for the power of crystals comes from the land of fable and myth, where invisible nature spirits known as devas manipulate events behind the scenes.
Devas are etheric, spiritual beings, and they are each associated with one of the four elements: earth, air, fire, or water. Earth elementals are also known as gnomes, and their numbers can include elves and brownies. Air elements are called sylphs, and they include fairies and cherubs. Fire elementals are salamanders, flaming creatures that usually look like lizards or balls of light. Water elementals are undines, such as nymphs, mermaids, and water spirits.
Every living thing—and some things we don’t think of as “living,” at least in the technical sense of the word—has its own deva. There are devas for trees, flowers, rivers, lakes, and springs. There are also devas for crystals, rocks, and stones.
Crystal devas represent the consciousness of crystals and the souls of stones. Together, they constitute the collective mind of the mineral kingdom. In this scenario, devas have the power to preserve, protect, and promote growth and well-being in the natural world, and they will happily work in partnership with like-minded humans.
As you start your work with crystals, you might want to imagine yourself communing with devas and the spirit of nature. Simply picture the spirit of a crystal in glowing, personified form, standing ready to help you in your efforts.