Feeling low? Grab an amethyst rock. Looking for love? Hoard some rose quartz. Need a single solution to any problem life throws at you? Crystals.
Whether Victoria Beckham is adorning her runway with them, Miranda Kerr is meditating clutching hers or the hippest beauty brands are infusing their serums with rose quartz, crystals have become the trendiest route to enhanced wellness.
Hey, if you haven't jumped aboard the crystal bandwagon yet, have you been living under a rock? Pun intended.
What are crystals thought to have healing properties?
The use of crystals can be dated back to ancient Egyptian times, when hematite was used as a mirrors. Throughout the centuries, they have been used as decoration, but it's only in more recent years that they have become a popular tool for healing.
“Crystals are so powerful because they work towards connecting and aligning us to a power and energy that at times is perhaps unseen, whilst at the same time encouraging us to connect and heighten our own personal power,” crystal whisperer and healer, Emma Lucy Knowles, says.
“Crystal are formed under pressure (much like ourselves), and they can do more than one thing at any one time, they can give and they can take (again just like us), and they vibrate energy. There is a natural affinity to the reflections of ourselves in these beauties that also connect us and help us quite literally take to hand the magic of the universe, the power of life force - whats not to love about that?”
How do crystals heal?
Knowles explains that crystals act as lenses and filters to our energy, and can be used to draw out energy that no longer serves us.
“They also can work to draw forth that which we desire, that we wish to be more abundant in, be emotional (confidence, love), or physical (energetical abundance),” she adds.
“When we feel ‘off’ our energy swings ‘out of balance’. For me in a crystal healing session or in meditation - these beautiful formations ‘vibrate’ at a frequency heard by our own calling. Energetically we reach out for what we need, be it the colour of the stone, the feel of the stone or what we’ve learnt about the stone.”
How to choose your stones and best crystals to buy
Just as crystal healing sessions are unique, so are the healing crystals you choose to own. Knowles says her best advice it to choose from your gut, and use your senses to drive you to what you need, rather than buying what you think you should.
“Allow yourself to play with what works for you too. If you’re not getting anything from touching the crystals – take a step back and see where your eye is drawn,” she adds.
Knowles says that Rose Quartz and Amethyst Selenite are her two staples as they promote love, spiritual and creative lifting, and universal guidance.
“You really cannot go wrong with these crystals when you are ‘starting out’,” she adds. “Beyond that – ALWAYS go with your gut.”
Below is a rough guide on which crystals can help with what aspect of your life:
- Amethyst:
- Clear quartz
- Bloodstone
- Obsidian
- Jasper
- Rose quartz
- Ruby
- Moonstone
- Sapphire
- Jade
- Citrine
- Turquoise
How to do your own crystal healing session
Before you try a crystal healing session yourself, you first need to attune your crystals. You can do this by either visiting a crystal therapist or energy healer, or simply use the power of your own intention.
“Decide upon what it is you will for the crystal to aid you or promote you in,” Knowles says. “For example if I wanted to see my true worth I would use a piece of Labradorite. Holding it in hand, during meditation or in a quiet space, I would set my attention with its assistance ‘please help me see my soul purpose, my pure real beauty, my worth – allow it to shine through all the obstacles that currently seek to block it’.”
While it's best to visit a crystal healer if you want a complete crystal healing session, Knowles says that one way you can heal yourself daily is simply pick up the crystal or stone that you are intuitively drawn to that day and set your intention.
“[To choose my crystal] I think, ‘what do I need for today’ and then I reset my eyes, my mind and let myself be led to what’s needed.. that can be the biggest crystal in the room or it can be a piece hidden away in to obscurity,” Knowles says.
How to care for your crystals
Knowles says that stones are like sponges in that they ‘soak up’ remnants of your emotions from day to day and therefore need to be cleansed - preferably when there is a full moon.
For stones that are not soluble, Knowles recommends running them through or bathing them in cold water before laying them out in the moonlight or sitting them on your windowsill during a full moon.
“When a full moon feels too long away, you can either wash them through or nest them in sand or natural salts,” she adds.
As for where to carry your stones, Knowles recommends skin contact so holding them in your hand, or as she does, wearing them inside your bra.
This article was originally published on Glamour UK.
