Crystal Healing Basics

Now that you have a good knowledge base about where crystals come from, what they’re all about scientifically, and the metaphysical ways we can think about them, let’s get into some therapeutic talk.

What is it that a crystal can heal that traditional methods overlook? It’s the spirit—the idea of who we are and where we’re headed in life. A crystal healer can come in many forms—a friend with a passion for crystals, a Reiki practitioner who uses crystals as part of his or her healing session, a trained crystal healer, or you can look in the mirror and let the healing begin! This chapter will let you in on how and why crystal therapy works, and how you can ensure that it will work for you. (Hint: there’s a little thing you must have called faith! It’s a belief that healing is possible.)

Learn How to …

• ◆ Use a crystal starter kit to cleanse and prepare you for self-transformation.
• ◆ Put a special symbol into the crystal to magnify its image.
• ◆ Pick an Ayurvedic birthstone by your astrological sign to correct imbalances.

Crystal Healers

Health is a matter of balance between the physical, emotional, and mental states—at least that’s what doctors treat if you are ill. Yet, our sense of self and well-being frames how we experience the health of our bodies, our emotional responses, our thoughts, and how we feel spiritually. This is part of living a life of wellness. Sometimes, we need some outside help to initiate our connection between the body, mind, and spirit.

A crystal healer is a person who has the skills or training to facilitate the healing process through the selection and placement of crystals around the client’s body. Crystal healers understand the crystalline complex and how to use crystal energy to create a curative transformation at the physical, emotional, and psycho-spiritual levels of being. They may use a variety of techniques and will have a number of different crystal types that are used for different purposes.

Even crystals placed in a room will emit energies or vibrational frequencies that can create a shift in energy dynamics and consciousness. In fact, there are crystal décor specialists who work with the energies of crystals in the environment. There’s a growing belief in individual spiritualism making crystals the perfect vehicle for any interpretation. You may find crystals just about anywhere—an office, medical suite, library, and other quiet, reflective, or healing spaces.

Among some Native American groups, quartz crystals are used in healing lodges to provide healing energy throughout the community. Sometimes large crystals are placed back into the land at strategic points to balance spirit energies. The ancient Druids of northern France and England also placed large stones strategically, although their purpose is still a mystery to us. All these cultures have different methods, but they all know one thing: crystals and their healing powers are a natural part of the environment. So, put them in your office or in your bedroom and soak in some crystal healing from your environment!

Within Tibetan Buddhism, crystals represent the highest level of purity and clarity of mind. Why? Well, the crystal teaches us that our minds should be clear and free from afflicting emotions and illness. And like a mother who cannot help but love her child unconditionally, a crystal refracts light unconditionally. If you put a clear crystal ball on a colored cloth, you will see the colored cloth underneath. Put a clear quartz crystal in water and the crystal disappears. Put simply, nothing material seems to stick to it.

Crystal healers know that if we strive to have the same qualities of crystal, we’ll hold a higher energy within ourselves and will radiate this light unconditionally throughout our being. Illness will not stick to our bodies, and our minds will be clear. This is ultimately what we hope to find and achieve in crystal healing.

What Is Crystal Healing?

The use of crystals for healing has been around for thousands of years. Ancient civilizations in China and Mesoamerica used jade to prepare the human body and spirit for its journey after death. The Egyptians used copious amounts of gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian, and other precious stones to decorate everyday items included in the tombs of their sacred pharaohs.

The use of crystal healing is relatively new to Western culture, although we do use crystals and minerals in many products, such as fluoride in toothpaste, calcium in stomach tablets, and limestone in cement making. Many other crystals are used in the pharmaceutical industries. Even our computer chips are made from crystal known as silicon dioxide. Other areas of the world use pure forms of gemstones for healing. Indian Ayurvedic medicine uses crushed gemstones, such as sapphires and pearls, and Tibetan medicine uses crushed calcite and turquoise among other crystals in natural remedies. The use of copper worn externally to alleviate body aches and pains is well known through the centuries and in many countries.

We’ve been using the term crystal healing a lot in this chapter, but what does it really entail? In crystal healing, crystals are selectively applied to the human body or around the body to affect a change in the subtle body energies and promote healing and relaxation. Energy can get stuck in the body. When that happens, it affects every part of the body, mind, and spirit. Crystal healing helps to clear those blockages and get everything back in balance.

How Does It Work?

Before chemistry became a science in Europe, there was alchemy, which was devoted to finding the right composition of raw materials that could be used to manufacture gold that would provide incredible wealth and longevity. However, metaphysicians and philosophers said that the most precious jewel was that of the human spirit. They called this gem the Philosopher’s Stone—another name for the spirit that lies within us. The quest to find the Philosopher’s Stone would lead to enlightenment, bliss, and immortality.

When we have the right composition of materials near us, we can create what we need for personal transformation, ascension, or connection to our higher selves. You’ve already learned that crystals resonate on particular levels. Their healing properties depend on their resonance.

So, for a broken heart, we want to hold or use a crystal known for its properties of healing the heart chakra. Rose quartz is the perfect choice. For a diseased heart, we use malachite, which is high in copper to help electrical recharging. For psychospiritual healing, we use kunzite, which is high in lithium content to help dysfunctional behavior like alcoholism. For throat complaints such as timid speech or sore throats, you would wear turquoise, known for its ability to open and protect the throat chakra. For back or leg pain, we place hematite, which has magnetic properties, along the spine or leg.

Knowing which crystals to use for which issue is only part of the healing work. There’s also the person’s individuality to consider. A crystal healer will have a greater understanding of the crystals and their uses and will be able to activate the crystal resonance for healing purposes.

Why Does It Work?

We tend to attribute certain values to crystals, as we do with gold. The rarer an item is, the more interesting it is and the more value we place on it. But there really is a transcendent nature to crystals. Realization of this nature depends on the user having an open mind—something we call a consciousness opening or a spiritual initiation.

There actually is some real energy in the crystals, too, of course. You can even measure their properties scientifically for electromagnetic energy, piezoelectric energy, luminescence, and for known chemical substances. But when you learn how to use these physical attributes on an esoteric level, crystal energy can be used even more effectively.

There’s also a line between the physical and the metaphysical. With crystals, your mindset—your intention—is a carrier for energy. This is not pseudoscience, it’s the nature of the metaphysical world.

I owned a crystal store for two years before moving into full-time crystal healing. A number of people came into the store looking for healing. On some occasions, people received spontaneous healings. Here’s a few stories that will help you understand that crystal healing is magical but not magic:

• ◆ A young man had swollen hands and asked if there was a crystal to use for his complaint. I suggested halite, which is also known as rock salt. I asked him to put a small piece in his hands. During the next few minutes, his hands started shaking and when he opened them there was a puddle of water in his palms that ran off onto the counter. The swelling in his hands had shrunk, and he claimed he could bend his fingers more easily.
• ◆ One man came into the store to tell me how a healing crystal he had purchased only a few days previously had helped his family. He said that his son had cut off the tip of his finger. He had quickly wrapped his son’s finger with a bandage and the newly purchased clear quartz crystal. He said that it seemed like a good idea to wrap the crystal in his son’s bandage. His son felt no pain, and the surgeons were amazed to find the damaged area was in good condition for this type of injury. The doctors were also a little startled to see the crystal drop out of the bandage. They sewed the tip back on, and the son healed more quickly than expected.
• ◆ An elderly woman came into the shop to ask me if I recognized her. I didn’t. She reminded me that the last time I’d seen her was about two months prior and that she’d walked in using two canes. Clearly, she had no canes with her this time. She said she used the copper and garnet that I had suggested for her arthritis and it had worked so well that she no longer needed the use of her canes.
• ◆ Others have told me that their thyroid medication had been reduced after using crystals, usually amethyst. Amethyst is known to work on the subtle energies related to both the pineal and thyroid glands.

Crystal healing is satisfying for many people because they can participate either actively or in a passive manner—whichever is appropriate to their healing. Remember, there’s no room for healing with a closed mind. Sometimes, the crystals do all the work. Other times, the person does all the work. And sometimes, a higher force does all the work.

Self-Therapy

The good news is that you don’t need to seek out an energy healer to get the benefits of crystals. Many books, including this one, compile the meaning of each crystal and will guide you on your way to self-therapy. (See Appendix A for a good selection of crystals for your collection.)

Let your intuition guide you to which crystals you need. Experiment with your feelings by selecting a crystal and wearing it throughout the day. Make a note of any changes you feel in a journal and add any specific events that might have been unusual for you and any reactions from other people. (Were they friendlier toward you? Less friendly?) For instance, I’ve noticed that whenever I wear turquoise earrings, people stand closer to me and I seem to be more engaging. Try wearing turquoise for a job interview. Maybe you will be sending out an irresistible vibe.

Is there a vibration to crystals like an earthquake or a truck rumbling by? No. The vibrations of healing crystals are subtle and very gentle. Many people need to be led to open up another level of consciousness, to actually feel and use the energy of a crystal. Without this knowledge and sensitivity, the crystal is just a rock.

It’s easiest to wear crystals in jewelry, hold them in your hand, or just have them near you. Give each crystal about three days wear to settle into your energy matrix and begin to resonate with your own vibes and then try a different crystal. Explore each crystal one at a time and be aware of the specific message each one brings to you. Remember, sometimes the healing is on more subtle levels, so check how you feel physically, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually.

When you get used to their energetic output, you might want to wear one crystal type to get a special effect over a longer period of time, such as a few weeks. It’s okay if you want to wear more than one crystal of the same kind. Their effects will be stronger. Try wearing two different crystals at a time and later add one more for optimum healing. You can actually wear up to seven crystals at one time. Any more than that and you might feel overwhelmed!

Crystal Healing Starter Kit

Buy three crystal point pendants, one each of rose quartz, clear quartz, and amethyst (1¹⁄₂ inches long by a ¹⁄₂ inch wide) and place them on a sturdy necklace that reaches your heart chakra. Instead of crystal points, you can use three tumbled stones at least 1 inch around and ¹⁄₂ inch thick and place them in a drawstring pouch or medicine bag. The pouch or bag should reach your heart chakra at mid-chest. This is your crystal healing starter kit.

21-Day Crystal Healing Cleanse

This crystal cleanse can be initiated any time you feel a need to move forward by opening your heart, opening your mind, and opening to new possibilities.

As you go through this 21-day cleansing period, remember to record your impressions in your crystal journal. If you find the cleansing experience is too intense, limit the wearing duration or wear smaller crystals. Remember to cleanse and recharge your crystals every three weeks for maximum benefits. And yes, you can remove them to shower.

Week 1—Rose Quartz—The Love Crystal
Begin by wearing only the rose quartz at the heart chakra to open the subtle energies of the mind and heart. Give yourself some self-love and support during a period of vulnerability while letting down your barriers to love and opening to a higher level. Feel more relaxed and in balance with your surroundings. Feel the expression of love!

Week 2—Clear Quartz—The Universal Healer
Add clear quartz to your necklace or pouch to generate and direct healing energy using your mind. This crystal can filter negative energy from others and promotes self-healing at all levels (physical, emotional, mental).

Week 3—Amethyst—The Master Transformer
Add the third crystal, amethyst, to your necklace or pouch. This purple crystal is a natural transformer of negative energy into positive energy. Align your subtle energies to a higher vibration for a deeper meditative experience. Integrate all energies (body, mind, and spirit).

Post-Cleanse Crystal Integration

After you’ve been wearing all three crystals for a week, the energy of the crystals integrates into your physical, emotional, and psychospiritual levels. The crystalline energy of the rose quartz, clear quartz, and amethyst merge into a new harmonic, producing a single crystal oscillation that can be used for a higher spiritual purpose. The result is your mind is clearer and sharper. You may experience less physical pain and less emotional stress. Solving problems might come more easily because you can see more clearly what needs to be done. You react less emotionally to uncertain situations. You may sleep better and dreams are brighter and more memorable. You are also more intuitive, and your psychic powers are much stronger. The longer you wear your crystals, the more benefits you will have and the deeper the healing.

A final word of caution: if you feel light-headed or dizzy, take the crystals off for a while to allow you time to integrate the changes. You may also need to work with fewer crystals over a longer period of time until you build up your stamina for crystal energy. Try a grounding crystal, such as black tourmaline, bloodstone, or lepidolite, to help you get adjusted to your new awareness of subtle energies and the changes in your subtle body.

Learn to trust your feelings about crystals. By developing sensitivity to subtle vibrations, you’ll be able to select crystals for yourself and others and make a positive impact.

Reiki and Crystals

Many Westerners are already familiar with the practice of hands-on healing or the “laying on of hands” within a spiritual context. The Bible refers to this ability, and healing through touch has been practiced throughout time. Even the Shaolin monks in China perform a type of powerful energy healing using the hands. Reiki is a hands-on healing technique that increases the body’s natural ability to heal physical ailments and release the causes of disease. The word Reiki is a Japanese word for the universal life force and our personal life force. The Reiki healing energy is focused and channeled by a Reiki healing therapist. Universal life force energy is gently absorbed into the body to heal at all levels. Reiki evolved out of the experience and dedication of Mikao Usui, a healer who started Reiki healing schools in the 1920s in Japan and was introduced to the West during the 1980s.

Many people receive benefits from Reiki energy therapy—adults, seniors, children, and even pets. Reiki has been used to treat stress, burn-out, hyperactivity, depression, and related psychological imbalances, as well as various diseases including HIV, cancer, and addiction. Reiki can also assist in recovery from sports injuries, car accidents, and so on, wherever gentle healing is beneficial to promote well-being and health.

Reiki is an ideal treatment for seniors and disabled persons who may respond well to healing touch therapies. A person receiving Reiki can expect to feel deeply relaxed and balanced with a general sense of well-being. It can be a profound experience of deep relaxation and inner quiet or it can allow you to shift gears into a deeper sense of self and personal priorities. Reiki is a way of being that assists in creating more peace, harmony, balance, and a state of grace in your life.

The use of crystals in Reiki is not part of the traditional Usui teachings. However, crystals certainly provide a benefit and are used to augment a Reiki healing session. A Reiki practitioner will hold the crystal for a while to place Reiki energy into it before placing the crystal on the client. Advanced crystal Reiki practitioners will put universal energy symbols into the crystal, which is something I’ll talk about in the following section. When the crystal is placed on the client’s body, the energy pattern is released and transferred. This is a powerful way to use crystals for healing as it blends two healing systems.

Combining Crystals and Symbols

We know from Chapter 2 that one of crystal’s properties is that it can hold an energy pattern constant. If we put another energy pattern—such as a symbol of peace ☮—into the crystal, it will also retain that energetic structure. This means the energy of the symbol is available to be energized by the crystal. When the crystal discharges its energy, that energy includes the pattern and force of the symbol and transfers the resonance of both the crystal and the symbol. Some samples of symbols are a white dove representing peace or a red rose representing love. Maybe you can think of some others.

If you would like to experiment using crystals and symbols, here is an exercise to try. First, select a cleansed clear quartz crystal. Ensure that the crystal is fully charged (more on these processes in Chapter 8). Then follow these steps:

1. Place the symbol in front of you and gaze at it for a few minutes while holding the crystal in your right hand. If you close your eyes briefly, you should see an image of the symbol in your mind. If you do not have an actual image of the symbol, think of one and hold that image in your mind for a few minutes. Close your eyes if it helps to visualize the symbol more clearly. Still don’t know what symbol to use? Try a happy face ☺ or a symbol of faith.
2. Hold the crystal in front of you a few inches away from your mouth, and view this image in front of the crystal. Hold the image steady in your mind and when ready, draw in a deep breath and blow sharply out over the crystal. This transfers the image into the crystal and is a form of crystal programming. The breath is an energy carrier for the image. The crystal will resonate with the symbol in its structure, just like Emoto’s crystalized water.
3. Take the crystal and hold it to your heart chakra or third eye chakra. See if the image of the symbol appears in your mind, or note what you feel from the symbol. As an experiment, give the crystal to a friend to hold it up to their third eye and ask what they see or sense. Maybe they will suddenly have a happy smile on their face!

You may find that holding the crystal energized with the symbol makes you feel tingly—that’s okay because it means your energy is being activated by the crystal with the vibration of the symbol. Try sleeping with the crystal under your pillow and record any dreams stimulated by the symbol into your crystal journal. You can also use this technique to put a symbol into a crystal for use in a crystal grid or layout.

Ayurvedic Crystal Healing

Since ancient times in India and other countries, astrology has guided and governed people’s lives. When people are born, the planets may be aligned in both auspicious and inauspicious ways. According to Ayurvedic beliefs, we can wear crystals or gemstones when we need some help to balance the energies that are out of balance due to the planetary weaknesses present at the time of our birth. The word Ayurveda refers to the Hindu method of healing, which has been practiced for thousands of years. Ayurvedic gemstones are believed to balance any cosmic energies that were out of balance when you were born. These gemstones also increase the strengths with which we were born.

The natural electromagnetic radiation of gemstones helps with the alignment of glands, organs, and chakras. As subtle energy interacts with the body and mind, subtle corrections are made. A person wearing gemstones to balance energy will benefit from a longer life and be more free from the effects of illness and other discomforts than someone who doesn’t have access to gemstones selected for his or her health.

If you’re interested in this approach, it’s best to consult with a trained Ayurvedic gem specialist or Vedic astrologer. The following chart is a rough estimation only. A gemstone is usually selected by birth date and time and other considerations such as location and your parents’ birth dates. The gemstone, known as a jyotish gemstone which means “divine light,” is carefully prepared according to ancient formulations. The gem must be completely natural and not be chemically treated. It must have clarity and sattva, meaning “sweetness” or a sense that one feels desire for the gemstone and can sense the life of the crystal itself.

In Ayurveda, gemstones are selected for each person based on planetary alignments at birth and karmic predispositions. Jewelry, such as a pendant or ring, must be worn over the proper body part for healing and balance. Thus, the gemstone will provide subtle energy and vibrations to correct the imbalance within a person’s life or body caused by planetary imbalances at the time of birth. Usually the gemstone is worn for the person’s entire life.

Numerous people are trained to work with crystals, such as crystal healers, crystal energy therapists, crystal Reiki practitioners, Ayurvedic astrologers, and traditional medical doctors, among others. The knowledge about healing crystals has been around for a long time and is part of the fabric of many different cultures. Maybe the new age did bring back some of the old crystal healing ways and some of the traditions got lost in new-age spirituality. Today, crystals are seen as part of wellness and a compliment to finding some peace of mind and healing in the “now age.”

Lapis lazuli: I lift your mind and spirit to new levels. I clear the way to acting on your highest ideals and for your highest purpose. I provide the attunement and protection needed as a light healer.