Jan 29, 2021

Crystal Magic - The Basics

The power within

How does a crystal or stone have magical powers? I believe that every natural item has energy, some call it an energy field, others may refer to it as an aura. Whatever name you give it, the energy has power that you can tap into. Crystals in particular have a structure that allows them to receive, collect, store and project energy. Don’t take my word for it, those clever science bods have apparently done all kinds of tests to confirm that this actually happens. Think of crystals and stones as natural batteries.

Each individual crystal or stone will have a very unique character and energy. You may connect with them or not, it will depend on how compatible your energy field is with that of the crystal. Just as you find you get on with some humans and not others. No two crystals will have the same energy. Even if you get two crystals of the same type, they will have a different feel from each other. Some crystals will have stronger energy than others, it isn’t always dependent on size either.

Choosing

If you are lucky enough to have a decent crystal store nearby then choosing the crystal yourself (or letting it choose you, as that seems to be the usual way) is good. But not everyone has access to hands on crystal shops, so purchasing from a reputable online source is absolutely fine. Don’t forget to look about in your local area; on the beach, river banks, woodlands or forests can all be sources of natural stones and pebbles. Check out charity/thrift stores too as crystals sometimes find their way to them too. You don’t have to spend a fortune, although it is tempting. Start small and with the basics. Beautiful magic can be worked with a pebble or a shell. The rough unpolished crystals are usually cheaper than the cut and prettied up ones and the energy will be the same either way, in fact I often prefer the raw unpolished stones myself.

Trust your intuition and pick a stone that resonates with you. If you are in a store hold your hand above the crystals and see if you can feel any heat or energy. If you are shopping online see what images jump out at you. Go in with an open mind, don’t be too set on a particular stone. I have discovered that the right stones will find you. In my experience crystals sometimes arrive from friends as gifts and you will occasionally feel the need to pass one or two of your own on to someone else. Crystals know when their work is done or if they need to move on…go with the flow.

If you are looking for a crystal to work magic with for a specific intent, get the idea, the goal or the desired outcome set in your mind and then ask yourself what crystal you need to use. Hopefully either the name or the colour of a crystal will pop right into your head. If it doesn’t, have a look through the crystals you have and see which one jumps out at you. Hold it in your hand and ask if it is the right one to work with, you should get a positive or a negative feeling.

Cleansing

Once you get the crystal home and in your sticky little paw you may want to cleanse it. You don’t know how many other people have handled the stone, including snotty little children (or snotty adults) …each one will have left their own personal energy on the crystal. A crystal will also need cleansing after it has been used for spell working or healing. If it has been left on a shelf or in a box for a long while it will probably benefit from a ‘once over’ as well.

Go with what supplies you have to hand, or what works for you when cleansing a crystal. But do check first, some stones are porous or fade in sunlight. Trust your intuition on this, you may ‘feel’ that each crystal needs a specific method of cleansing. I think it helps to cleanse and charge crystals in a way that matches their energy.

My cleansing suggestions:

Visualisation: Cheapest and simplest option. Visualise a white light coming from the sun, the moon or the sky and direct it into the crystal. See it cleansing and purifying any negative energy away.

Water: Run your crystal under the tap or drop it into a bowl of water. Allow the water to wash away any negative energy.

Incense: Light an incense of your choice and waft it over the crystal or holding the crystal in your hand move it through the smoke.

Sun: Leave your crystal in the sunlight, either outside if it is safe or on a windowsill for an hour or two – until you feel it is cleansed.

Moon: Leave your crystal in the moonlight, either outside if it is safe or on a windowsill for an hour or two – until you feel it is cleansed. This is best done under a full moon but work with the moon phases dependent on whether you want to work drawing magic (money, prosperity, love etc) which would benefit from charging under waxing moon. Crystals that you intend to work releasing magic with would be better charged under a waning moon.

Earth: Bury your stone in the soil for a few hours. Probably best done in a flower pot otherwise you might forget where you buried it…

Air: Hold the crystal in your hand and using your breath, blow on it, turning the crystal around until you have literally blown away all the negative energy.

Sound: Place your crystal down and drum around it or use a singing bowl, cymbals or any kind of musical instrument of your choice.

Rice: Bury the crystal into a bowl of dried (uncooked) rice and leave for a few hours.

Fire: You need to be careful with this one. Light a candle and pass the crystal just above the flame to cleanse.

Other crystals: Some crystals are natural cleansers. Lay your crystal that needs clearing on top of a larger quartz or amethyst cluster.

Herbs: Sprinkle a blend of herbs and/or petals over the crystal or pop them in a pouch or jar that is filled with herbs and plant matter.

Connecting and Energy

Before you work with any crystal I recommend connecting with the energy it contains.

Every natural item has its own energy field and it is just a matter of tapping into that to find out what specific help it can provide to you.

Sit quietly and hold the crystal in your hands. Open your mind and reach out with your spidey senses and connect with the aura/energy field of the crystal. Ask it what it can help you with.

Carry the crystal with you and/or sleep with it under your pillow – this will help you connect to the crystal and it will also help make the link with your energy.

Some crystals will have stronger energy than others, it will depend on the size of the crystal, type of crystal and also whether it is compatible with you. You may find that there are some crystals that totally resonate with you, others you may distinctly not like, you may even find it uncomfortable to hold them.

Meditation

I also recommend meditating with any new crystal you acquire. Sit quietly and put the crystal down in front of you. Clear your mind and allow your focus to be directed at the crystal. See it, really see it in great detail. What colours do you see? What inclusions, cracks, lines or spots do you see on the surface? What about under the surface? Really delve deep into the stone. Explore…

Crystals can be used as a focal point for meditation or as an aid to help you on your meditation journey.

Holding the crystal in your hand or creating a meditation journey pouch that holds crystals works well but you can also lie or sit with crystals placed on your body. This works particularly well if you are laying down as you can place a crystal on your third eye, it will help you reach a meditative state and amplify your insight.

The aftermath

Once you have finished working magic with a crystal you can re-use it, but I would suggest cleansing it first (using one of the methods above). If you don’t it will carry the energy from the last spell and could confuse the issue if you use it next time for another purpose.

Remember that crystals store energy, positive or negative. It is really important to release any negative thoughts or feelings before you work with crystals. Any stray negative vibes that are floating around within you may get transferred inadvertently into the crystal when you are working with it. The crystal will then hold onto those bad vibes.

Projection and reception

Some stones are better at projective energy and others suited to reception. Think male and female, sun and moon, ying and yang, hot and cold or day and night. It does seem that the brighter sunshiny coloured stones are more on the projective power side of things with the lighter blues and greens being receptive. But again, trust how you feel about a particular stone, they are all individual.

Projective stones will often feel very energetic to the touch, sometimes literally fizzing with energy. Projective crystals are good for protection and healing along with anything of the positive body and mind image magics such as confidence and strength. Receptive stones will usually give a soft calm energy out and sometimes feel cold to the touch. Receptive stones are good for emotional issues, spiritual and psychic magic and for calm and peace. Obviously not every stone will fall exactly on either side of the fence and some will be total rebels and climb the fence to the other side. Something like quartz will sit on top of the fence as it works as a multi-purpose stone. Black stones for example like to buck the trend and will fall on either side depending on their type. Hold the stone and connect with the energy, you will soon become accustomed to what type of energy it is and how it can help you.

Life is all about balance and crystals can be used to help create that wonderful situation of equilibrium. If you find yourself feeling angry or irritable then you may have way too much projective energy floating around your body, work with a receptive crystal to balance it out. And conversely if you are feeling moody and emotional you may be overflowing with receptive energy, work with a projection crystal to bring about the balance.