How To Use Crystals

Walk in to any shop that sells crystals, and your eyes will be in for a treat from all the glittering ones available. Row after row of the glistening gems will keep you shopping for what might seem mere moments, but actually stretches into hours. There is no limit to the infinite variety of crystals that can be applied to your personal practice. The pricing can fit any budget, and you may find your collection of crystals growing beyond a small spot on a side table to every room of the house! What are crystals good for anyways and how do you go about using them?

What Are Crystals?

Crystals are naturally occurring stones from the earth, and many believe each kind of crystal has its own energy that can be used based on the very nature of the material it’s made from. These are harvested, some tumbled through machines to be smoothed, and others are left in a more natural form, cut into specific sized pieces before they are shipped to your favorite shops. Different crystal guides say different things about each crystal. One guide may say rose quartz is for self-love, and another may say it’s for healing. One guide may say bloodstone will heal disorders of the blood, and another may not say that at all. If you want to know more about crystals then you can read our beginners guide to crystals.

What Is Each Crystal For And How Do You Select Them?

There is no proof that any crystal will in, and of itself cure disease, so don’t replace your family doctor with crystals just yet. After the long trip crystals take to end up in a shop, they may be handled by many different hands before they make it to you. Some of that raw earth energy they had before may be lost, and some other energies may have been absorbed by them. Along with remembering the fact crystal guides disagree combined with the fact energy can be lost and absorbed in crystals, don’t forget that we are all different. No two people are going to get the exact same feel from the same crystal, so your sure-fire way of finding out what each crystal is good for is to outright ask it.

Not aloud of course, but with your energy and your inner voice.

It’s All About You!

Say you are looking for stones to keep on hand at a very stressful job both on your desk and in your pocket for those headache-inducing meetings that seem to take forever. Quiet yourself and focus. Then hold your hand over the display of crystals if nothing has called out to you already, and move around the display, taking in the energies. Pick up one crystal at a time and listen to it. How does each stone make you feel? Give yourself time to choose, trusting yourself, and you will have selected some crystals before you know it. Maybe even more than you had expected!

Each of us are different individuals, and a crystal which makes one person feel a particular way may make the next person feel entirely different. Choose what feels best to you. Start with smaller crystals, experimenting with them over time, and the longer you use crystals, you will get more of a feel of what crystals are best for you. Be patient and take as long as you need. There is no deadline to develop advanced crystal working practices immediately.

Now that you have a simple crystal selecting method, you will be amazed at all the different ways they can be used!

How Crystals Are Used

There is no one right set of ways to use crystals. Some people use them to influence mood because the individual energy of the crystals brings their own feel. Some use them to instill within themselves certain feelings, or attributes, and still others use them simply to tune into the energies themselves, looking only to be connected and not seeking some other purpose.

Beyond individual use, organizations have always understood the power of using certain stones. Some say a lot of government buildings are made from marble due to its durability and ease in the carving process, but others believe marble helps protect from evil and harm. Some say diamonds are given in engagement rings because they are so expensive, but others claim diamonds help focus the mind, which can help one focus on commitment to a relationship. Stones are deliberately used in everyday life by people who don’t think the natural properties of them influence anything, but those who use crystals know better.

Beyond constructing buildings out of certain stones, or giving engagement rings made from them, there are many different ways people use crystals.

Personal Adornment

Jewelry with a piece of a specific stone is one way to use the power of crystals for both beauty and to have their energies on hand as often as you prefer. Gold is one material of choice - not exactly a crystal - but it can function as a power material for certain. Gold has been used for centuries to symbolize power and success, and to boost self-esteem. What better way to use such a thing than to wear it? Hematite has been used by many as a protective stone, said to block out all other energies save what the user consciously permits in. Look for hematite rings reasonably priced as an easy was to hook the protective attributes of this crystal.

Carrying Crystals

Besides wearing crystals, many choose to carry a selection of crystals in pockets, bags and purses, or securely stashed in wallets. Nobody needs to know about your personal crystals unless you want them to, and having them in a safe place on your person, in your bag, or even in your car is one way to have the energy from your crystals along wherever you go.

Bowls Or Stacks Of Crystals

A collection of your crystals in some form of collection typically manifests as a nice basket or bowlful at homes, gardens, or offices. Some have entire corners of a room devoted to their crystals, where they go to meditate, and cleanse, using the crystals energies.

Cleansing And Charging Crystals

A simple way many use to charge, or fill their crystals with a particular energy or meaning, is through a practice called consecration. Consecration just means the act of making something sacred. You do not need a holy person or other professional to do this for you. You have the ability to do it yourself! All you need to do is decide what energy you want in a crystal, and put that energy in there.

Say you are doing a lot of tests as you finish a study course, and you are very nervous. You have a silver and garnet pendant you were given by a loved one, and you want that pendant filled with energy that will help you to feel more confident in general, but most especially during the time of your tests. This pendant will become your talisman, or power object that helps you. So pick a place that has meaning to you, a place where you feel at the height of your personal power, and take the pendant with you to that place. Hold the pendant in your hand, and mentally focus so that you will feel instantly calm, and confident every time you wear this pendant or so much as even touch it. Each time you put the pendant on, focus that energy into it. Every time you consecrate and charge, or fill - like a battery - this pendant with that energy, it becomes stronger.

Energy can likewise be removed from crystals. Say you had your heart set on a gorgeous piece of goldstone you saw at a shop, but the way the energy feels to you coming from it just isn’t right. You buy the goldstone anyhow, and you go about removing all that energy before charging and consecrating it with the new energy you prefer. There are multiple ways to do this. You can basically do a reverse of charging a crystal and focus all the energy coming out of the stone. You do this by visualizing energy leaving the stone, and visualize it as completely cleaned out, like a blank slate, basically.

To harness natural things to do this for you, you can bury crystals in the earth, or cover them in a bowl of water, setting the bowl in the light of the moon, sun, or whatever you feel best. You can pack the stone in salt, which is regarded by many as purifying, and you can smudge the stone with sandalwood incense, which has been used by many to prepare things for sacred use. After you feel your goldstone is thoroughly cleansed, you are ready to charge it with whatever energy you desire.

Getting started using crystals in your personal practice is as easy as deciding what crystals call you, cleansing and charging them with whatever energy you prefer, and practicing with them regularly.