When I was around six years old we had to suddenly move from the idyllic home we had in a small, leafy town in the Netherlands to a temporary grey, 70’s style cottage in a village on the outskirts of Glasgow. Eden had somehow swiftly turned into a kind of gloomy purgatory and I didn’t know how to articulate my shock around it to myself or anyone else.
My room was a box. Small and featureless. The only thing that made it beareable was my little altar of crystals – laid out with precision on a limp, synthetic piece of cloth on the floor. I remember the pyrite ‘fool’s gold’ rock I’d been fascinated by in a museum gift shop feeling like a portal back to something, some magickal plane my soul knew but my young awareness couldn’t place. I remember my fossils. And the piece of rose quartz I still have that I would later take into my ayahuasca ceremonies for comfort.
I didn’t consciously grasp it then, but on another level I understood something about crystals; that they’re much more than inanimate objects.
Crystal Consciousness
Here’s where many people’s eyes glaze over, but if yours are about to, stay with me, because there’s something genuinely worthwhile here.
As I started training in magick, I learned that crystals are conscious beings with their own set of capabilities. Even though I’m really open to ‘this stuff’, the Microsoft part of me was still skeptical. It took my own exploration and deliberate openness to see for myself what a gift it was to be able to communicate with crystals more deliberately, and to collaborate with them. There’s something very rewarding about engaging with other forms of consciousness like that, and I found that crystals are typically really happy to work with us to support our mutual evolution. I think it’s been thousands of years since humans and crystals have had that kind of connection but maybe we’re at a stage where we’re becoming ready for it again. I don’t know.
While humans characteristically like to do certain things – have fun, make meaning, learn new things, procreate, and so on – crystals like to work with energy. Their joy and sense of purpose comes from transferring it from one formation to another, balancing it, projecting it, and much more. Each crystal does that in its own unique way. Some can amplify your intentions, others will protect, or clear energetic blockages. All crystals of a specific type will all typically do the same kind of job, but even within that there is still a lot of variety.
Just like us, crystals have a spirit and an etheric body that will affect how it grows physically. Also, during their development, they interact with other forms of consciousness, such as elementals, and take on qualities from them. That’s why each unique Citrine will help you connect with abundance, prosperity, and personal power in its own unique way, and depending on what you need and the nature of your relationship.
Where this is most notable is with quartz. The number of faces and the kinds of veils and inclusions each crystal possesses will reflect its ‘personality’, and the kinds of ways its inclined to work with us. The only problem is that many quartz crystals are cut by machine to look more like people think they should look. That essentially ‘kills’ them. Look for ones which are raw and uncut. Same with all crystals, really.
Because of their deep connection to Earth's energetic currents, they hold a powerful capacity to carry and transmit vibrational frequencies. Their ability to encode and transmit energetic vibrations makes them ideal allies for attracting and helping to align your energy with different kinds of ‘frequencies’ – be it love, prosperity, or peace.
The relationship
The quality of ‘what you get’ from a crystal depends on the quality of your relationship. And just like with humans, if you approach the connection from that kind of extractive attitude you’re probably not going to get very far. It’s about genuine mutual appreciation and respect.
It starts with how you find the crystal in the first place. Maybe it finds you somewhere – either out in nature, through a gift, or just through a strong sense of attraction in a shop. Trust your intuition when selecting a crystal; often, a stone will call to you through a feeling, color, or energy that resonates deeply.
If you’re actively looking for a crystal to help you with a specific goal, you can have that in mind as you explore different stones and notice how each one feels, tuning into any sensations of warmth, tingling, or a sense of rightness that can guide your choice. Try to resist the urge just to read the card descriptions in the shop. And just because you may think ‘looking cool’ isn’t a valid criteria, I’d absolutely beg to differ. Let it be specific, practical, slightly odd, and most importantly, yours
Cleansing
When you begin to work with a new or existing crystal, you’ll want to cleanse it of any energies or intentions it may be carrying. Cleansing restores the crystal's pure frequency and ensures it is aligned with your conscious intent. You can leave it under the light of the full moon – lunar energy purifies and recharges their vibration. – or you can smudge it with herbs like sage. Do that regularly to keep it clean and charged. Bathing your crystals in salt water using sea salt or Himalayan salt and letting the water draw out any residual energies is another option. But check – some types of crystals can handle it, other stones are more sensitive or porous.
Connecting and charging
Once your crystal has been cleaned, take a moment to connect with it. See if you can feel its essence, its consciousness. That might feel ‘in the stone itself’, more physically, or it might feel more like a permeating consciousness in the ‘field’, which feels like talking to a specific frequency the sky. I get both, it depends.
Once you feel a connection, tap in to whatever’s inspired you to want to be in touch with it. Be curious, taking time to get to know it, and allow your crystal to get to know you as well – your goals, dreams, and specifically what you’re looking for from the connection. That way you’re building something real. Then check in every once in a while, or as often as you need, to keep that connection alive and to let it grow and change.
You can call on their support during meditation, carry them in your pocket, or place them on your altar. But really, because they also exist as conscious entities beyond time and space, you can connect with your crystal from wherever you are in the world. You don’t have to wear it as jewellery or carry it around. This also allows you to tap into the power of crystals under the earth or in a museum, which would be completely inaccessible otherwise.
It might feel a little weird or ‘woo’ at first, but once that settles, crystals open up a whole new range of interesting possible friends, allies and colleagues in your world, and can really back you up both in terms of supporting your healing and your life’s goals. Try it and see.
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