Choosing Your Crystals
With literally thousands of different types of crystals available these days, how do you select the ones that are right for you?
When people ask me how to go about selecting a crystal, I always start by explaining that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to select your crystals, and that you should always go with whatever method you’re most comfortable with. Then I explain the various methods that I use, and have listed below for your consideration. And these are only a few of the methods you can use. Some people choose their crystals by colour, selecting only those that visually appeal to them. Others follow their intuition as to which crystals will best suit their needs at that time. When selecting a crystal using your intuition, it’s usually the first crystal that you are drawn to that’s the one for you. If your vibrations are attuned to a particular crystal, you may receive one or more of the following sensations. Heat coming from the crystal, cold energy, a vibrating, or pulsing, a feeling of balance, or wholeness, a tingling in your hands, or you may even feel an electrical charge. However as already stated, there is no one method that is better than another when it comes to choosing the right crystals for you.
- Scanning – You can choose your crystals by scanning. Spread the crystals in front of you, then rub your hands vigorously together and activate your palm chakras. Now close your eyes and relax to clear your mind. Slowly run your hand over the stones without touching them. If you are right-handed use your left hand, if you are left-handed use your right hand. At least one crystal should draw you to it and this will be the one meant for you.
- Vibration – You can choose your crystals by vibration. Follow the instructions above but this time; hold each crystal separately to see if you can sense any vibration. The one that vibrates to you will be the one meant for you.
- Pendulum – You can choose your crystals by pendulum. When you first acquire your pendulum, you will need to test it to see how it answers you. To do this, simply hold the string of your pendulum lightly between thumb and first finger. Then either mentally, or aloud ask it a definite “yes” question. Make a note of how it swings to the answer. For example, ask your pendulum "is my name..." if the answer is yes; it may swing either clockwise, or anti clockwise, or side-to-side, or in a front-to-back motion. Stop it from swinging and then ask it a definite "no" question. It should then swing the opposite way clockwise, or anticlockwise to the direction of the yes question. Or produce a side-to-side, or front-to-back motion opposite to the yes question. Now that you know how to interpret your pendulum, you can slowly pass it over each crystal one at a time and ask it, "Is this the crystal for me?" You can also choose a crystal for a friend using this method.
- Kinesiology – You can choose your crystals by using Kinesiology. This is a test that will amaze even the die-hard sceptic! You will need a partner to help you. Stand relaxed and hold your arm out to shoulder level. Ask your partner to place two fingers on the upper part of your extended arm. Ask them to press gently down whilst you resist the pressure. This tests your normal muscle strength. Select a crystal and hold it over the area of your heart. Ask an appropriate question, like, "is this crystal the right one for me"? Or "is this crystal good for healing"? Still whilst holding the crystal over your heart area, ask your partner to press down on your extended arm after each question. If your arm stays strong then this is the crystal for you. If your arm weakens try the same test on another crystal.
Cleansing Your Crystals
Once chosen, your crystals now have to be cleansed. Cleaning your crystals can often be the very first step in getting to know them, and this pleasurable process gives you time to make friends. Personally, my favourite thing to do is to give them a quick dip in the ocean.
Another beautiful way to cleanse them is to smudge, use Reiki, or white light visualization. This method is quite clean and you take no chance of damaging your crystals. There are several ways to energetically clear your crystals and detailed below are just a few.
Soak them in water with sea salt in a glass receptacle. Alternatively, you can use the water from an incoming wave if you can access the ocean, (if using water to cleanse you need to consider the sensitivity of the crystal as some are porous & do not enjoy being soaked.)
Another of my favourite ways to cleanse is by putting them out in the rain.
Wash in water to which a few drops of Penny Royal (Essential oil) have been added, This cleanses instantly & is in fact great for any energetic cleaning you may wish to do.
Wash in cool water running, and leave in the sunlight for a few hours between 8 am and 11 am. The energy of the sun is different at sunrise, midday and sunset. Sunlight can reverse the polarity of some crystals and it can also make them fade. If placing crystals in the sun, don’t leave them out for too long as they can go into shock. Treat your crystals the way you would treat yourself. Would you stay out in the sun for long hours at a time?
Sound can be another effective way to clear them
Some people even like to cover them with rock salt for 3-7 days
Ultimately, we will all find a favourite way to keep the energies of our Beautiful Allies clear & in return, they will serve us well.
Recharging Your Crystals
It is important to recharge your crystals from time to time. Recharging deals with the renewal of their charge or energy field. This is a different aspect to consider apart from cleaning or cleansing. Subjecting them to the full moon or the morning sun, which contains the full-colour spectrum, will increase the energy and vitality of the crystals. Crystals also enjoy extreme conditions such as lightning and storms, they absolutely love the rain. This recharges them again and makes them ready for further use.
Crystal Energies
Different crystals have different characteristics and therefore they have different energies, so where should you start? First, let us examine what the most important criterion is when selecting a crystal: vibrational match to your purpose. Everything around us vibrates at a particular frequency. This frequency is related to the movement of the atoms of our physical world and it changes over time. Even during the course of a day, your own vibrational frequency will vary. When you feel happy, at peace & fulfilled, your vibrational frequency is quite high. On the other hand, if you worry or are subjected to stress in any way your frequency goes down.
When you seek the help of a crystal, you are enlisting a powerful ally to raise your vibrational frequency. No mater what the crystal is used for its desired effect is always an increase in your vibrational frequency. We often crave certain crystals because we have a vibrational match with them. This vibrational match means that our proximity to this crystal raises our vibrational frequency, thus making us feel good. There are many books that describe crystals and their usage, yet most of them disagree on exact properties. This is most likely because to a degree we will all experience & react differently to their energies based on our current state of being.
Healing with Crystals
Crystals hold the full colour of the light spectrum and are one of the oldest tools on earth used by Shamans and priests for healing and seeing. Certain crystals contain mineral properties that have an exact point of resonance with our various organs, and being matter in its purest form, they have a close association with our subtle vibrations. They heal by transmitting this subtle energy, gathered from the rest of the universe, to which they are linked by their elements and composition.
Crystals always work in association with the chakras. These are spinning vortexes of energy located within the etheric (a representation in the aura that resembles the physical body) and the subtle vibrational force field around the body, to strengthen it through purification and amplification. The energy channels are then opened up allowing proper flow of energy between the etheric & the physical body. This process of amplification to make stronger, and purification to rid the body of contaminants by crystal healing, fine-tunes the body’s vibrational circuitry. This then allows the healing energy that is abundant in the universe to be channelled into the physical body.
The crystal healing process occurs through absorption, and redistribution of frequencies into the energy points within the physical body. A certain crystal is chosen and placed in your environment, or perhaps on a chakra a vital energy point, or a certain part of the body, to absorb unwanted frequencies. A crystal will be chosen because the energy that it absorbs corresponds to that particular part of the body or chakra. It fine tunes that area, allowing healing energy to flow in, thereby bringing the body, which is moving away from perfect health, back into line.
The “energy fields” around crystals have a natural alignment with the electromagnetic field of the planet, and are always in a constant state of resonance, or vibration. If an organ in our body, or a thought pattern in our mind is out of balance, we can use a “vibrational frequency” to force it into a different rhythm. The stronger vibration will force the weaker one into a more appropriate health pattern. The negative energy may then be pushed to the outer limits of the aura (the electromagnetic field that surrounds the physical body) for purification, thus restoring the balance in all our bodies.