5 Things You Should Know About Crystals And Gemstones

1: Historical Use of Crystals and Gemstones

Crystals and gemstones have been used in healing and spiritual practice for centuries.  I’ve come across some really well documented examples of historical use in Egypt, Rome, China, Japan and Greece.

Here’s just a few examples of how they were used in Ancient Egypt:

• They put Quartz the forehead of the dead because it guided them to the afterlife
• Royal ladies wore crushed Lazuli stones on their eyes because it promotes enlightenment
• They purged evil spirits with Peridot and Topaz
• They wore crowns encrusted with various crystals because to awaken the Third-Eye.

Romans used crystal talismans and amulets to enhance health and provide protection in battle.

Ancient Greek’s associated hematite Aries, the God of War.  So they crushed it and rubbed it on soldiers to enhance their fighting skills and provide protection in battle.

Traditional Chinese medicine quite often incorporates healing crystals.  Emperors were often buried wearing Jade armour.

In India, crystals were used to heal emotional imbalance.  Sapphires for astuteness and clarity and Jasper to balance the base chakras, bring harmony and enhance sexual vitality.

Scrying with a crystal ball was common practice in ancient Japanese culture.  They believed that the crystal spheres represented the heart of a dragon – powerful and wise.

It’s also a strongly held belief that crystals were used by the Ancient Sumarians in spell work but I’ve yet to come across strongly documented evidence in my studies.

2: Modern Uses For Crystals and Gemstones

The use of Crystals and Gemstones has become increasingly popular in recent times.  They’re used for emotional wellbeing, physical health, protection and to enhance spiritual connection.

Crystals are used in meditation practice , Reiki and in Wicca.  In Wicca I use them for spell work and divination. They can be used to attract love into your life, to enhance your spiritual well-being, reduce headaches, protect you from emotional trauma (like bullying) or improve your ability to stay calm under pressure.  The possibilities are endless!

I use crystals daily.  There’s a small collection that sits on my desk at work – these are to keep me calm, focused and remind me to approach things from a place of kindness.  I carry around a pouch with me in my handbag that has whatever crystals I’m using at that point, I wear them as jewellery and I have some scattered around my home for various purposes.

3: Building A Crystal Starter Kit

If you’ve not used crystals before I’d recommend putting together a basic starter kit that includes the following four crystals.

Rose Quartz
Rose Quartz represents unconditional love and peace.  It’s also my favourite crystal.  I have pieces of it everywhere! It wards of negative emotions, helps you to heal in times of heartbreak or trauma and it strengthens your ability to display empathy.  It’s a great stone to enhance your relationships – with yourself and with others.

Amethyst
Amethyst is a powerful protection crystal.  It also has strong healing powers and promotes spiritual awareness. Carrying Amethyst with you will clear negative external influences and enhance your decision making abilities.

Clear Quartz
Quartz is the most powerful healing crystal.  It absorbs, stores and releases negative energies and it’ll enhance your immune system.

Black Obsidian
Black Obsidian is a very powerful protection stone.  It blocks stress and can even stop you from absorbing environmental pollution.  Carrying it with you can improve resilience if you are sensitive to criticism and sleeping with a piece under your pillow will help draw out stress and tension.

4: Cleansing Your Crystals and Gemstones After Purchase

After purchasing your Crystals it’s a good idea to cleanse them.  Because when you purchase them from a shop, chances are they’ve been handled by numerous people.  So cleansing them will remove all energies from the stones that aren’t yours.

I do this using a technique called smudging.  You can buy a smudging stick from most ‘new age’ stores, I prefer using white sage.

1. Sit in a quiet place.
2. Place your crystals in a bowl or on a small table in front of you.
3. Light a white candle, focus on the flame and take three deep breaths.
4. Light your smudging stick and pass it over and under the crystals.
5. Recite something personal to you that signifies your ownership and use of the crystals.  E.g. “I release all stored energy from these crystals.  From this point onwards they are mine, and mine alone to use”.  If you bought them for a specific purpose I’d also add a sentence that states that intention clearly.

5: Recharging Your Crystals and Gemstones

Crystals work by absorbing energies.  So you’ll need to recharge them regularly to make sure they keep working.  The best way to recharge your crystals is to place them in a bowl of water and place them under a full moon.

I like to say a sentence or two to thank them for their hard work, but that’s not necessary.  You can just place them outside under the moon’s gaze.  If you have a water soluble crystal (like Selenite) don’t put it in water.  You can place it in a bowl with no water or with salt instead.

I hope you enjoyed my first post on Crystals and Gemstones!  I plan on publishing a featured crystal post each month, that will include a fact sheet you can download.  So if that sounds like something you’d like then pop your details in the form below to make sure you never miss a post!

Recommended Crystals and Gemstones Reference Material

Crystal Bible Chapter 1 by Judy Hall
Crystal Bible Chapter 2 by Judy Hall

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