An Intro Guide to Crystals – Everything you need to know!

What the heck are crystals and do they actually work? In today's post I'm jumping into the history of crystals, how people use them and answering the forever-asked question: Are they actually effective?

The wellness world can be overwhelming. Trust me, even as someone who is 100% immersed in it, I feel this sentiment too. I created this series to help you navigate the ever expanding and increasingly confusing wellness world. 

My first encounter with crystals occurred in Banff when I experienced my first crystal bowl sound bath at a local crystal shop in downtown Banff. I can't fully explain to you what that experience was like except that in the span of a half an hour it felt like every emotion I had ever felt was suddenly about to pound out of my chest. I was told that crystal healing sometimes can bring out negative emotions that we need to face, and well, that's exactly what happened to me. I became a believer.

What is a crystal?

A crystal is just a rock right? Not quite. Crystals are solids that form by a regular repeated pattern of molecules connecting together. This uniform structure is what makes a crystal a crystal. A rock, such as granite is not a crystal because it does not have a uniform structure. Whereas a crystal, such as amethyst is made up of the mineral, quartz. In the world of crystals, each type of gemstone has a certain frequency and can help heal or encourage certain states. Holding crystals or placing them on your body is thought to promote physical, emotional and spiritual healing. Crystals do this by interacting with your body's energy field, or chakra.

Different types of crystals

There are many different types of crystals but here is an intro guide to some of my favorites:

Rose quartz: the crystal of love and opening your heart.

Calcite: Helps with mental clarity and bringing into focus love and abundance

Citrine: a third chakra crystal promoting mental clarity, confidence and willpower

Amethyst: a type of purple quartz that helps with sleep, mood and healing by targeting your crown chakra

Aventurine: helps to manifest abundance and wealth

Tiger's Eye: a root chakra crystal all about grounding and safety

Labradorite: Helps in connecting you to your dharma (passion) and intuition

How To Use Crystals

1. Wear them! Making crystals into jewelry keeps them close to your body and allows their energy to be working at all times.

2. Keep them in your pocket, on your desk or nearby – strategically place your crystals in areas of your life where you are most likely to interact with them.

3. Cleanse, clean and charge your crystals.

• Cleanse: when you buy or receive a new crystal, always cleanse it to eliminate any negative energy and allow it to start fresh. You can cleanse your crystal using sage or palo santo and allow the smoke to coat your crystal. Smoke has historically been used in many cultures as a purifier.
• Clean: soak your crystals in sea salt to purify and clean them.
• Charge: Under each full moon place your crystals out to charge in the moonlight.

Do Crystals Actually Work?

The answer to this depends on who you talk to. People who are deep in the crystal/energy world will say "yes! they absolutely do!" others might disagree. Though some scientific testing has shown that crystals do in fact have different frequencies, the effect these have on various emotional states is not 100% certain. That being said, I truly believe the most important piece of crystals is mindfulness. Taking the time to figure out the right crystal to achieve a certain physical/emotional/spiritual state not only forces you to assess where you are at presently but also where you would like to be. And wearing a crystal and/or having them in your space bring that mindfulness to you more frequently than if you didn't have any kind of reminder around.

I also remind people that wellness "add-ons" like crystals are pretty harmless. While, I wouldn't depend on crystals to heal you from illness, I do think they promote positive behaviors and thoughts with little to no negative side-effects. So in the end I think it all depends on if you buy into or not. That choice is up to you.

Do you use crystals? What are some of your favorites?

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