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Crystals develop in the earth from minerals that have been around since the world was formed. They are connected with primal, ancient energies and, in their structure and symbolism, have a strong relationship with the four elements of Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. Crystals have always been used for healing and strengthening spiritual abilities and, thanks to the wisdom passed down from the ancients, we are still able to draw on this knowledge today. However you do not need to be a shaman, seer or magician to work with and benefit from crystal energy. As long as you can locate a crystal and understand something of its nature and applications, you can tap into its power to bring help and healing in your own life and for those around you. Below are descriptions of a handful of the more popular and easily found crystals and their uses.
Rose quartz – a love stone. Easily recognisable for its gentle pale pink colour, this is one of the main crystals for dealing with heart issues. It can help to attract a new love into your life or heal a heart that has closed or felt damaged. Rose quartz is excellent for developing rapport in relationships and can help an ongoing love connection over a rough patch. Wear it close to your heart if you can; a rose quartz necklace is ideal. Try placing the crystal next to a photograph of the one you love and radiate love to that person; it could soon radiate back!
Hematite – a grounding stone. The colour ranges from grey to black and the stone has a shiny, metallic quality, so that polished hematite looks somewhat similar to drops of Mercury. Useful for those who have trouble with the memory, it is also helpful for mental organisation and original ideas. This stone helps to dispel negativity and increases courage and confidence. If you suffer with agoraphobia or lose too much energy when you are around other people, hematite could be an ideal stone for you. Keep it close to your body, e.g. as a bracelet or even in a hand bag.
Amethyst – a spiritual stone. Many stones are used for insight but amethyst is especially valued for aiding meditation and developing spiritual awareness. This is ideal to use whilst following guided meditation or for those times when you still yourself, close your eyes, sit comfortably and let the worries of the world go. Amethyst brings a deep sense of calm and can help bring greater insight into life purpose. Hold the crystal gently in your palm and allow your mind to calm and empty. Amethysts appear in the colour spectrum from lavender to dark purple.
Citrine – an abundance stone. This is a crystal associated with wealth in a variety of forms. Its focus is not only money but also on the multitude of ways in which abundance and help can be offered. There may be kind favours from friends or gifts from suppliers, opportunities to increase income, or simply more necessities and good things in life. Meditating with citrine can help banish worries about “not having enough” and aid in improving the situation. The colour range goes from white to golden yellow and deep amber brown.
Astrology and Crystal Correspondences
When it comes to astrology and crystal correspondences, there are no hard and fast rules and – as anyone who has read Wanda Sellar’s articles on this subject in previous Astrology and Medicine newsletters will know - ancient and traditional sources don’t always agree with one another. Occasionally, they assign dual rulerships to some of the stones and sometimes just omit them altogether. This may simply be to do with what was available at the specific times of writing and working with crystals.
From an astrological point of view, rose quartz is given no traditional correspondences but based on colour we can assign it to Venus and her concerns. To be fair, it is the case that the ancient and traditional correspondences don’t necessarily give the colour pink to Venus, however, personally I like the association because it tallies with ideas regarding pink and green relating to the heart chakra. Rose quartz is seen as a helpful stone for matters of the heart and can, therefore, lend strength to aid an afflicted Venus in the birth chart, especially to address relationship problems. Financial issues can also be seen as “Venusian”, although in the crystal world we might more readily think of financial matters as being helped along with citrine. Nonetheless, if you consider the self-worth issues underlying earning potential, Venus for love and respect of the self is by no means a bad candidate.
It seems natural to associate black stones with Saturn, but the shiny charcoal-black tumble stone hematite looks like a solid version of liquid Mercury and traditionally has affinities with that “winged messenger” planet, too. Just to add spice, sometimes a red quality can be noted in the stone, in which case it can be seen to have an additional association with the planet Mars..
Amethyst is a stone of Jupiter and, for a change, the ancients seem to all agree on that, apart from Al-Biruni, who doesn’t assign it at all; perhaps a typical case of lack of supply in his area at his time. To me, amethyst is one of the stones showing greatest congruence of association between disciplines, as the astrologers agree it’s a Jupiter stone and Jupiter’s colour correspondence is always given as purple. In chakra healing, which is meaningful in aura cleansing and crystal healing alike, this is along the colour band given to the “third eye” or spiritual chakra, sometimes described as indigo in shade. Perhaps it is also one of the most relevant stones for “Indigo children”, although a wider range is certainly available to them within a healing context; in my local new age shop, “Stepping Stones”, I was delighted recently to notice crystal elixir sprays designed especially for children and teenagers, to address specific issues such as bullying, anger, depression etc. To me it is a true sign that the new age has arrived, that we are now in a position to offer healing not only to our fellow adults but also to the next generation of children appearing in the world!
In her book entitled Soul Mastery Susann Taylor Shier describes children with a more greatly developed compassion and, likewise, sees this as a sign that the times are a-changing and, if we look around, we can see that our children are incarnating as highly developed souls. Perhaps we can send some boxes of crystals and gem essences to the houses of “Tiny Tearaways” on the TV, to help any families that are still struggling!
Before we put the subject of crystals fully to bed, though, let’s also cover a few basics, such as the relevance of size, how to use or wear them, forms of cleansing and where to get hold of crystal “booty”.
Size: Crystals come in various sizes but for carrying and meditation, smallish stones of around 2-3 cm are often sufficient. If you want to influence a whole room of people (eg a healing room) by all means invest in some massive amethyst half-domes and hang them safely but high up in the corners of the room. Terminated chunks that cover the palm and larger swathes of stone such as amethyst constitute crystal “beds” and can be used to rest your crystals when they need recharging.
Body wear: The general advice regarding crystal healing is to get the crystal energy as close to you as you can. Look out for beautiful crystal jewellery, including simple “power bracelets” – crystal beads threaded onto elastic cord and more elaborate pieces that arrive as earrings, pendants, bracelets etc. An alternative, for using any small crystals or “tumble stones” that you already have, is to pop them into a small drawstring bag – the types that you see in new age shops – and tie this to the inside of your clothing, on the layer that is close to the skin. An opaque bag can be ideal for allowing closer contact, especially with the colour vibration.
Cleansing and recharging. Crystals are fairly resilient but may need to be occasionally cleansed– which means ridding them of negative vibrations and recharging them with positive energy. It is at least worth considering cleansing a new crystal before use because you don’t know who has handled it before you and it may well have collected negative energy build up from a variety of sources. It will likely be better knowing that you are starting with a stone that has been recharged with positive energy. One simple method is to hold the crystal in your palm, close your eyes and imagine a waterfall going over it, renewing any outworn or negative energy. You can also use the human breath – just blow on the crystal to waft away the previous energy. Some people like to fully immerse the crystals in water but some crystals just can’t take this; flaky kyanite, both blue and black and the lustrous, white selenite are likely to just disintegrate (how Neptunian!). A better option for these would be run them through incense smoke or use the above “imaginary” water process. They can also take being put in or on earth, although you probably would not want to over-saturate the soil. You can also use a crystal bed to recharge a tired crystal and a good tip, if you like to keep crystals that are not being used together in a bowl or box, is to keep a piece of carnelian in there too, as this will automatically cleanse any other crystals around it.
Copyright Diana McMahon Collis 2018
This article excerpted from a piece for the Astrology and Medicine Newsletter in 2006
